


The Looking Glass

by RedhathackerSin



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Adventure, Dragonball Hunt, F/M, Krillin becomes the Turtle Master, Training, Videl learns the truth early
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-22
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-01-03 22:59:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12156540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedhathackerSin/pseuds/RedhathackerSin
Summary: Videl Satan had been an up and coming martial artist. She had already fought men that were twice her size and won. However, a chance encounter with a certain blue haired genius will open Videl's eyes to the more mystical aspects of the world, and through that she will find that she has no idea how much she doesn't understand. Now what the heck are dragonballs?





	1. Then Where Are You Going?

Videl Satan was finally beginning to feel as though she was breaking free from the shadow of her father. It had taken her the better part of three years working with the police force in Orange City, soon to be named Satan City in honor of her father, but she felt that it was all worth it. She had never felt as much of a thrill as she did when she was taking down the bad guys that seemed to quantify her city even though her dad, the hero who had defeated Cell and was arguably one of the strongest men, if not _the_ strongest man in the world, was living here.

Videl blinked as she looked out from her recently acquired jet copter, it had been a 14th birthday gift. She had had to give the street she was currently flying over a second glance as she saw a woman being accosted by some thugs. Videl didn’t even stop to think, she put her copter on a special auto pilot dive that would allow it to land and when she was close enough to the ground, she jumped out, landing squarely on the first thugs face.

Using her momentum to springboard off of the guy she twirled into another kick, this time towards the neck. She had learned over the years not to go easy on any of the people she took down as they were generally beefier than her and had a habit of not staying down if she didn’t get in a blow that would make them stay down. There was a flurry of punches and kicks and after a scramble of about a minute all of the thugs were groaning on the floor.

Videl was only slightly out of breath as she slid out of her martial arts stance. Putting her hands on her hips she turned toward the woman she had saved only to feel her eyes widen and her breath catch in her throat.

The woman was staring at her curiously a shopping bag discarded off to the side, but unlike other women that she had saved before, this one seemed perfectly fine with the gratuitous amount of ass kicking that she had just witnessed. She was a slim figure wearing sensible blue jeans and a red long-sleeved shirt that managed to accentuate her curves with her blue hair being cut in a short style that brought out her blue eyes, which were merely curious on probably the most famous women in the world, Bulma Briefs.

_What. The. Hell?_

Videl had never been struck speechless by someone she had saved before, but this was something way different than her usual damsel in distress, so amid all the groans from the downed thugs Videl awkwardly raised a hand towards a woman that she somewhat idolized.

“Hi, uh, Ms. Briefs, I hope you’re okay?”

Videl cursed herself as her voice had taken on a slight upward inflection at the end of her sentence. She also felt herself begin to blush as Bulma’s blue eyes began to take on an emotion other than curiosity… amusement. Apparently she had noticed the confidence that Videl had exhibited and was amused by her awkward transition.

“Well now, I must say I hadn’t expected to be saved by the daughter of the ‘Hero who defeated Cell’ today.”

Videl looked to the side, slightly abashed at one of her own personal idols talking to her.

“Come on now, I need to be able to thank you properly, it’s been awhile since anyone was bold enough to try something like that so I wasn’t expecting it, usually I’m with my husband and he can glare anyone into submission.”

Videl looked up startled at that assertion and looked around at all the thugs lying on the ground. There were five here, so her husband must be someone pretty tough if she wouldn’t have been worried with him there.

“If that’s the case, where is your husband?”

Videl suddenly felt a chill crawl up her spine as she whirled around and dropped into a stance.

Standing right behind her was a man who was smirking down at her with his arms crossed wearing simple jeans and a pink t-shirt. His dark brown eyes and hair took her in from over a chiseled jaw. She also noticed that he was relatively short compared to the thugs she had just taken down, he wasn’t even much taller than his wife. The final thing she noticed was that his frame seemed to be exploding with muscles.

“Now what have we here?”

Videl tensed as the man said that as she felt _something_ in the back of her mind respond to his verbal challenge. It felt as she were some form of prey to a much larger predator. Almost as if she were out in the wild and had run into one of the many carnivorous dinosaurs scattered throughout the land.

“Vegeta, knock it off, she was very helpful in thrashing those goons on the floor.”

Bulma’s voice seemed to calm the man down as he uncrossed his arms and walked over to where the blue-haired woman was standing, brushing past Videl uncaringly as he did so.

“Are you hurt?”

Videl was almost surprised by the amount of tenderness in his question. Apparently even if the man was a rough figure, he did care about his wife.

Bulma playfully slapped Vegeta in the chest as she once more turned her gaze to the young Satan.

“Like I said before, just name your price and I’ll do everything in my power to try and fix it.”

Videl looked to side in slight embarrassment. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go, usually when she beat up the bad guys, she just took them to the police station and that was the end of it. She was never thanked for anything; she did what she did because it felt right. She also had no idea what she would even ask for, she had money, she was working on fame, what could she possibly want that she didn’t already have?

The only thing she could ever want was to have her mother back, but there was no way for that to happen. Even Bulma Briefs couldn’t bring the dead back to life.

“Sorry, but the only thing I can think of is impossible.”

As she turned to walk back towards her copter, she heard Bulma call out.

“Wait! How impossible are we talking?”

Videl stopped for a second to look quizzically at the blue head.

“Unless you can bring the dead back to life, then I’d say it’s pretty impossible.”

Videl was sure that Bulma would back off with that statement, but apparently she didn’t know the CEO to the Capsule Corporation even remotely well.

“Well, if that’s what you want. Who did you lose?”

Videl blinked at the blunt statement, and was also just a little freaked out that apparently Bulma Briefs could bring someone back from the dead. Did she invent a zombie virus or something and was taking her request out of context?

“Um, I’m pretty sure even you haven’t invented some miracle cure for death yet, no offense Ms. Briefs.”

Bulma placed her hands on her hips and gave Videl one of the greatest “try me” looks that she had ever seen.

“Well, I didn’t invent it, but there is a way to bring the dead back to life.”

Videl’s heart jumped into her throat at that statement. Her mother, her kind sweet mother, the only person who had been able to curb her father’s slightly manic tendencies, could be brought back. This, this was just too impossible, especially for something as random as saving someone from a few thugs on the street, even if it was Bulma Briefs.

“Woman, are you intending to tell her about-”

Whatever Vegeta was about to say was cut off by a motion from Bulma, and the intimidating man quieted with an expression that on any other person would be called a sulk.

“However, before I tell you, I need to know you’re not gonna bring someone crazy back to life.”

“My mother.”

Videl hadn’t even realized she had let that slip out. It had come in almost a whisper. She knew, _knew_ , that the dead didn’t come back to life. There had to be some catch to being able to do so. Would she have to go find someone like the Demon King Piccolo and sell her soul? Need to do some other crazy act that she couldn’t even begin to comprehend?

Videl had looked away as soon as she realized she had spoken, but when she looked back, all she saw in Bulma’s eyes was kindness.

“It’s hard, losing someone you love. Believe me I get it, are you sure it wasn’t her time to go though?”

Videl’s very being raged against that idea. Her mother had been full of life, she had been someone who was able to keep up with both her daughter and her husband and had had the mental fortitude to take on whatever challenges came her way. She wasn’t a fighter, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t an amazing woman.

If Bulma was really giving Videl this chance, and she seemed to at least believe that what she was saying was true, then Videl would be foolish not to at least try and take it.

“Alright Mrs. Briefs, I’m sure, just tell me how I’ll be able to resurrect my Mom?”

Bulma’s eyes took on a bit of a mad glint at that.

“Well, I can tell you that it won’t be easy, tell me Miss Satan, what do you know about the dragonballs?”

* * *

Bulma watched as the young Satan took off in her jet copter. She was sure that with a few tweaks she could make some great improvements to the design of the product.

“What are you playing at woman?”

She sighed as she turned to her easily irritated husband. Although Vegeta was a proud member of a vicious race of warriors, Bulma knew that with her he may as well be an overgrown grumpy cat. Still, she was curious about what exactly Vegeta thought she was doing this time.

“I’d say that I’m helping a poor girl who had lost her mother out, and she did save me from those unpleasant thugs don’t forget.”

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her before he turned back toward the copter flying away from them.

“The girl has potential for a human. I know you’ve been around fighters enough that even you have picked up on it. You think that she might be able to actually gather the full set of dragonballs.”

Bulma smiled at her husband, so he was able to sense it as well. She knew as soon as the girl had effortlessly taken down the thugs that had been threatening her. The last time she had got that feeling was from Goku, when the boy had thrown her motorcycle when they had first met. A new and exciting world had opened up to her then, and she thought she might see a bit of her own cool headedness in the young Satan as well.

The girl had taken the tale of the seven dragonballs rather well on the surface, although Bulma was sure that Videl had been freaking out just beneath her surface emotions as they discussed seven unimaginably powerful balls that could grant almost any wish when gathered together.

Bulma had been hearing about various instances of a young girl getting involved in the seedier side of things long before she had ever laid eyes on Videl, and her own maternal instincts had been somewhat worried. This girl wasn’t someone who had trained to really fight for their lives, eventually she was going to come up against one of the seedier underground elements of the city that wouldn’t think twice about killing her. She was still only a girl after all, a talented fighter true, but still a girl. She needed a _real_ teacher, not one who had tricked everyone into thinking that he had been the person who had saved the world.

Thankfully she thought that the beginning of the girl’s search would be a good stopping point for her. After all, Bulma wasn’t the person with the current possession of the Dragon Radar. She had lent it out to a friend awhile ago, and he would be more than happy to help someone who didn’t have any evil intentions in gathering the Dragonballs. She just hoped that the young girl didn’t mind having to deal with the perverted old man that was also on that island.

* * *

Videl was lost in thought as she walked through her father’s new mansion. She heard a faint sound of laughter as she walked through the hallways and found her father once more living it up with both booze and woman. She winced at the behavior that he was exhibiting. She had seen some of his outburst on occasion, both before he defeated Cell and while her mother was alive, but usually her mother was able to curtail the worst of this behavior. It just seemed that Videl wasn’t good enough to take her mom’s place as the handler of her father.

Sighing, she pushed open the door more fully and walked into her father’s room, amid music, giggles, and the strong smell of alcohol.

“Oh, Videl honey! Nice seeing you! What can I do for you honey!”

Videl was somewhat glad that even obviously wasted, her dad still tried and find time for her, but she knew that as soon as she was not in the room, he would go right back to his partying ways. She had only really come in here to inform him of her intentions. Nothing he said or did would stop her from going after these mystical “dragonballs.” She still wasn’t sure if they were a real thing or just some sort of myth that Bulma was making up to send her on a goose chase as some sort of sick practical joke, but the only way she would be able to live with herself would be if she at least _tried_.

“I’ve just come to say that I’m gonna be going out for awhile tomorrow. A friend of mine has invited me out on a camping trip and I think some fresh mountain air will be good for my training.”

Hercule merely nodded his approval of that. Although he was living up the partying life, he knew that his daughter was rapidly becoming formidable in martial arts. She might even outstrip him soon, so he decided that letting his baby girl go on a camping trip and have some fun would be a nice break.

“Alright! Thanks for telling me, have fun!”

Videl nodded as she backed out of the room and listened as her dad went back to his partying ways. She sighed as she began to walk towards her room. She had felt a bit bad about lying to her father, but the man hadn’t even asked who she would be going with. She supposed she would just have to be content with whatever happened when she went to the island that Bulma had said her “Dragon Radar” was currently at. Apparently an old friend of hers had the device to find the dragonballs, although she never did get his name. She hoped that just name dropping Bulma would be enough for the guy to give her the device, and if not, well maybe she could fight him for it?

* * *

Master Roshi the Turtle Hermit knew he was far, _far_ past his heyday of fighting and defending the Earth from anyone who was intending to harm his beautiful planet. He had aged with grace and after leaving behind a smattering of apprentices in his _long_ life, most of whom he had outlived, whether through old age or violence, he needed a much deserved rest. He had done his part in training those who had become so much greater than him, and he knew that there were plenty of others to take up the mantle of “Earth’s Defender” if it was necessary.

Roshi felt an old familiar pang at the student he had been most proud of, and who had gone on to become something greater than even Roshi could imagine, but he pushed that aside with practiced ease of an elder who had taken in the Elixer, accepting that time never stands still and mounting deaths of friends (and some enemies he respected) were inevitable. For now, he would just continue to sun himself as the soft waves of the ocean lapped on the sandy beaches of his small personal island located in a place so out of the way that almost no one ever visited.

At the moment, Krillin was busy getting supplies to help with the coming months, as he and Android 18 had decided that they would move in with Roshi to help out the old man in his twilight years. Even though Roshi boasted that he had drunk the Elizer, he hadn’t survived for as long as he had by turning down help when it was offered. The two newlyweds (even if they had been married for a couple of years they were still newlyweds to Roshi) would be back soon enough and for now he enjoyed the sun on his face, warming his old bones as it glinted off of his ever present sunglasses.

Just as Roshi was begging to really doze off, he heard a small droning sound in the distance. Apparently someone would be flying over his island pretty soon. Well, it was nothing for him to worry about. Whoever it was would just pass over and keep on going to whatever their destination was. Although not very common he did have the occasional traveler cross over his island. No one ever stopped though, despite the fact that he was pretty sure that his brilliantly colored house must look fairly odd sitting out in the middle of the ocean.

However, instead of the steady increase and then decrease of volume that he was expecting, it appeared that this particular craft had decided to land on his island, if the steadily increasing engine and gusts of sand being blown around by someone making a landing was anything to go by.

Roshi had to crack an eye at that. As far as he knew, only Bulma would be arriving on his island in some sort of machine rather than flying under her own power.

The sight he was met with was not of the expected blue haired woman, but a much younger girl who looked far too serious for her age. Roshi examined the girl behind the glint of his glasses and took in her appearance. She was wearing a long white shirt that came down towards her knees, had on comfortable and sensible looking boots, and was sporting a pair of dark shorts. Her hair was tied into twin tails that hung over her shoulder and her blue eyes were studying him just as he was studying her.

Throughout this entire process he hadn’t moved an inch and gave off an aloof air as though he was napping and even her wildly loud landing hadn’t been able to disturb his nap.

“Excuse me.”

Roshi was surprised. It seemed the girl was in fact quite young if the alto of her voice was anything to go by. He supposed he could have a bit of fun with this new intruder to his island. He couldn’t remember the last time someone new had actively come seeking this place. Course decided he kept on pretending to be napping.

It looked like this was the right route to take as he saw the girl begin to glare in anger at him. Sometimes he really loved messing with the youth. They were so easily riled up.

“I said, excuse me!”

He made a show of jolting awake, flailing a bit for dramatic effect on his lawn char before sitting up and adjusting his sunglasses, giving the illusion of him first looking her over.

“Yes, yes! Sorry, been awhile since anyone has been out here! It’s not often that anyone tries and interrupts my nap nowadays.”

The girl huffed in annoyance as she crossed her arms and took in the rest of the island. She obviously wasn’t going to see much as the only people here at the moment were himself and Turtle.

“Well, sorry to bother you, but Bulma Briefs sent me here to collect the ‘Dragon Radar.’”

Roshi felt his eyebrows rise at that declaration, now what would that troublesome women up to now? After their attempt to bring Goku back, none of them had really seen a point in going after the dragonballs. Perhaps Bulma had a score to settle with this young girl.

“Well, I can hardly give something so precious to someone who just makes demands without even introducing themselves first.”

Roshi fought back a smirk as the girl blushed as she realized that she had not in fact given her name before demanding one of the few devices on the planet that could find the dragonballs almost effortlessly, possibly the only device.

“Sorry.”

Her apology came out as an almost mumble, telling Roshi that she was _not_ used to apologizing for her actions, before she continued.

“My name is Videl Satan, Bulma Briefs said that she had left that ‘Dragon Radar’ thing here and that if I mentioned her and it in the same sentence, one of her friends would know what I was talking about.”

Roshi stroked his beard in thought as he stood and examined the girl. She was obviously someone who was born and raised in the city. She wasn’t even really taking the time to enjoy the pleasant ocean air that was a constant on his small slice of paradise.

“Well, luckily for you, I know who Bulma is, or else this would be a pretty awkward conversation. What if you’d gotten the wrong island?”

Videl looked at the pink shack with “Kame House” painted across its side before she replied a bit drily.

“I think it’s pretty hard to miss the only island around for miles with a pink house sticking out like a sore thumb.”

Roshi openly laughed at her reply. Well, she wasn’t wrong about that. It was almost laughably easy to find Roshi if you had the ability to fly and knew what to look for. He somewhat missed the olden days when his air of mystery allowed only those who he took an interest in being able to find him. Well, no use in crying over old news now, the girl was here, but he wasn’t going to just hand over the Dragon Radar, even if it wasn’t _technically_ in his possession at the moment. He didn’t think the girl truly understood the dangers of hunting the dragonballs for a normal human, even one who had some potential, if the small spark of ki that he felt within her was anything to go by.

“Well then Videl, I’m sorry to tell you, but the person who actually has the Radar is out at the moment. However, I’d be quite the useless old man if I didn’t at least try and warn you about the dangers of tracking down the dragonballs, or asking your reasons for wanting them.”

Videl looked away at that, obviously uncomfortable with the topic, but when she looked back at Roshi she had some good eyes, eyes that were hardened into determination and ready to take on anything to achieve her goals. Well then, it seemed he was going to have to be a bit more serious than he had originally intended. With eyes like that the girl might actually pull of the feat of gather all seven of the dragonballs.

“I need to bring somebody back.”

Roshi raised his eyebrows once more at that admission. Apparently someone close to her had passed onto Other World, and she was determined to get them back. Well, he wasn’t one to judge, but he supposed some sort of test was in effect. Hmm, what to do, ah! That would work!

“Well, I guess that’s a noble cause as any, better than wishing for a pair of woman’s underwear, not that I’d say no to that!”

Videl’s look of mildly disturbed disgust, though at the wish or the acceptance of the wish Roshi wasn’t sure, made him laugh once more.

“But first! For you to be able to be prepared for what is to come, I’d say a short test is in order. You seem awfully young for this sort of journey, and the last people I let go had had _years_ of training and an unnatural disposition towards Martial Arts.”

Videl’s eyes seemed to take on a spark of anger at that. She probably thought that her name alone qualified her as some up and coming Martial Artist. Well, he would disabuse her of that notion.

“What do you mean!? I’m the daughter of the hero who defeated the monster Cell! I’ve been training ever since then to be able to take on anyone! There’s just-”

Roshi decided that he should cut this rant off before it really got going.

“This is not a journey to take lightly young lady, and the last person who came to me and was looking for these had been training since he was a baby. And now he’s passed on.”

Videl flinched at that. Apparently she had picked up on the slight grief that Roshi couldn’t quite keep out of his voice. He respected Goku’s decision, but that didn’t make it any harder to accept that his greatest student had decided to _refuse_ to come back. He supposed he might as well assuage some of the girl’s fears as well. She no doubt was still at least somewhat skeptical as to the validity of the dragonballs.

“Oh and just so you know, the legends of the dragonballs? They’re very true. After all, I’m one of the geniuses that those things have brought back to life!”

* * *

Videl stood there for a moment stunned at the old man’s casual declaration at one time being dead. There was no way, he looked so vibrant! Sure he might be a little old, but he looked fine. For the first time since hearing about these mystical orbs that granted any wish, she started to get excited. If Roshi was living proof that they worked, then she could definitely get her mother back!

“Now then, I think I have the perfect test for you! After all, I need to make sure you’re ready for the journey!”

Videl blinked out of her stupor and glanced at the old man who had walked to the other side of the island. Although his appearance was somewhat goofy (what with the giant turtle shell, the floral patterned shirt, board shorts and flip flops. Not to mention those sunglasses) he seemed as though he was really going to test her. _Her!_ As though she wasn’t one of the strongest fighters of her generation.

However, she forced herself to remember his brief moment of grief at the fact that apparently once of his students had died searching for these dragonballs. He was obviously just concerned.

“Now then, the only requirement for you to pass my test is to knock these glasses off my face.”

Roshi stated this with unbridled confidence and Videl simply nodded in response to that as she slid into her tried and tested stance.

“Well then, as soon as my staff drops to the sand, you may begin!”

His piece said, the old man tossed his staff up into the air and Videl watched as it reached the high point of the arc, before gravity took over and it plummeted to the ground.

Before it had even touched the sand Videl had placed the weight on the balls of her feet and as soon as the staff hit the ground, she sprang forward like a coiled cobra. She snapped her foot out in an attempt to kick Roshi’s face, but was slightly surprised as he merely leaned back slightly and watched her foot sail by harmlessly.

Videl used her momentum of the missed kick to land on her foot and plant it before spinning around and to try a punch using her centrifugal force. If she caught him in the gut and made him lose his breath there would be a brief moment of disorientation where she would be able to get the glasses. However, as soon as she was close, her punch was batted away by her wrist.

Snarling in frustration, she sprang back to take a moment to observe the old man. It was then that she noticed that although he was standing casually, she couldn’t detect any openings. It was as if the very fact that he wasn’t trying made him unassailable. Letting out a breath to try and calm herself, Videl sprang into action once more.

A few minutes later and she was panting. She had never had this much trouble before! The only time this had ever really happened was when she fought her father! And even then she had felt that she was pulling more and more even with him! Who the heck was this guy!?

“Done already, if that’s the extent of your determination, then I’m afraid that you won’t be able to gather the dragonballs and have your wish granted.”

Damn it! This guy knew how to push her buttons! With an enraged shout she threw herself once more into the battle, but after a few checked moves, she suddenly saw stars as something seemed to explode from her abdomen. She went tumbling across the beach, sand exploding in her wake before coming to a stop. Groaning she tried to stand, but fell to the ground on her hands and knees, once more panting.

“Well, that was a mistake! You have pretty decent potential, but to recklessly charge a former World Martial Arts Champion seems to be a bit on the dim side.”

Videl felt her eyes widen and the pain recede for a moment at that as she looked back at Roshi, who had not moved a single inch the entire ordeal. If what he said was true, that meant that this guy was in a league that only people like her father could touch!

“In fact, I’d say that your style is still a bit untested. You’ve been learning from your father, yes?”

Slowly, Videl nodded in acknowledgement.

“Well, it’s not a bad style, but it’s still young. Against the old styles, the ones that were made to fight for your life and not in tournaments, it’s a bit easy to counter. Unfortunately for you, I’m one of the few remaining Master’s on this planet. Well, I suppose former Master is more accurate, my surviving pupil has surpassed me long ago.”

Videl felt her eyes widen even further at that. She also noticed that the pain had mostly faded, although there was a dull ache.

“How-”

Videl had started speaking before she had really thought about what she was going to say. However, once she found her train of thought, she needed to voice it.

“How can there be someone so strong and they don’t compete in Tournaments! The best of the best gather there! Surely they want to challenge themselves!”

Roshi seemed a bit sad at her statement as he gazed out into the ocean and clasped his hands behind his back.

“While it’s true that that was the case not even twenty years ago, times have not been good to the Masters. Most of us see the way things are going and have decided to fade into the background, relics of the past if you will. However, we are out there, if people decide to search for us. I suppose you can partially thank your father for the fact that we’ve faded into obscurity. With such a flashy man and flashy style, it’s no wonder we’ve faded into the background.”

Videl almost couldn’t accept that answer. She had been half killing herself with her training, and apparently there were people out there who were _so much_ stronger than her. She wasn’t even sure if she would be able to get those glasses off of Roshi.

However, as soon as she had that thought, she remembered why she was out here in the first place. It didn’t matter if there were people stronger than her, she would take them on and win! She had determination in spades and she _would_ find all the dragonballs and resurrect her mother. If Roshi was proof that it was possible, then she _would_ succeed! And nothing, _nothing_ , was going to stop her.

Unknown to her, as she was hyping herself up, Roshi had observed tendrils of ki begin to waft off of her. Apparently she was already at a stage where she just needed the right _push_ to be able to access it. Grinning he decided that his test was done for the day.

“I don’t care what you do! I don’t care that there are other people stronger than me! I _will win_!”

Her piece said, Videl crouched once more, vaguely aware that she felt better than she had ever felt before and couldn’t even feel the pain of the shot she had taken just a little bit of time ago. She fuelled more of herself into her determination, and then she exploded from her spot towards Roshi.

She watched as Roshi’s eyes widened behind his glasses, and in her instant of clarity, she threw a vicious kick at his head. He once more leaned back, but at the last second, she accelerated her attack, something even she didn’t know she was capable of, and to her shock, the glasses were grazed and went skittering across the sand.

Staring at the glasses in disbelief she clenched her fist in victory.

“I did it.”

Her soft declaration of victory was all she was able to do before darkness quickly swallowed her vision and she fell to the warm embrace of unconsciousness.

* * *

Videl began to awaken to a feeling of blankets on her body and a cloth on her head. She also heard some soft muttering that seemed to be going on near her. Interestingly, she felt as though she could _feel_ two massive beings standing on the island, with one of them completely dwarfing everything else. In fact, she might begin to hyperventilate if nothing happened as she sat up in a panic.

That presence was massive, something that she wasn’t able to comprehend. She heard someone shout out near her.

“Krillin! Hide your power level, she’s not used to being able to sense ki!”

As soon as that was said, the presence she had felt almost reduced to nothing and Videl felt herself panting from the exertion and sweat glistening on her forehead. For a moment there was nothing but silence, but then a kind voice broke through.

“Sorry about that. It’s been awhile since a new fighter has appeared who could sense us, especially on this island.”

Videl nodded in confirmation as she tuned and took in the person who had just spoken. He had a head of black hair and kind brown eyes on a slightly tan face. He was also insanely short. In fact she thought she might be taller than the man if she were standing up. Next to him was a woman who seemed to be breath-taking in her beauty.

She had long golden tresses of hair that came to her shoulder and deep ocean blue eyes. Her outfit consisted of a skirt with tights underneath and a denim jacket over a long sleeved shirt. For the time being the woman seemed to show a slight concern, same as the man.

“Well then, it’s nice to see you’ve all met each other, Krillin, Videl. Videl, Krillin. And this is 18.”

Videl nodded to the two as she noticed Roshi introducing them. She also noticed that while Krillin seemed to have almost completely erased his presence, Roshi was still there. Although he felt much stronger than what Videl realized was her own feeble presence, apparently he wasn’t a gigantic beacon like Krillin had apparently been.

“Well, it seems you’re a natural at sensing ki. Sorry about that, usually only Roshi and 18 are here and they don’t mind if I let loose a bit.”

Videl shook her head at that. She was slightly intimidated by the man, but he seemed well intentioned enough, even if he seemed to give off the air of a predator.

“Well then, I heard you came looking for the Dragon Radar?”

Videl slowly nodded in response to Krillin’s questioning tone.

“Well, congratulations, I’ve got what you came for, and apparently Roshi here says you’ve got what it takes.”

After saying this, Krillin pulled out a round device with a green grid screen. It almost looked like a wind up clock. A quick push of the top button and the device began giving of a steady blip of noise. Videl’s attention had become undivided as she looked at the device that she had gone through that test for.

Grinning, Krillin flipped the device over to the young Satan, who then scrambled to catch the thing.

“There you go kid. If you want, I actually know exactly where one of the dragonballs is. I’m willing to show you.”

Videl looked shocked at that. Apparently she had become pretty lucky in coming to this island.

“Mind you the other six are a bit hard to come by, but the four star ball is almost always with the same family, if you’d like I can take you to them, as soon as you regain your strength of course.”

Slowly, Videl nodded her acceptance of his offer.

“Thank you.”

Krillin just laughed and waved it off.

“Call it an apology for scaring you earlier. I don’t like freaking people out, it’s not really in my nature. Anyway, get some rest and we’ll set out when you’re ready.”

A friendly clasp on the shoulder and the three adults left the room, leaving Videl to wonder how she would feel when she laid her eyes on the first of the dragonballs that she had gone to such lengths already to acquire. She would also have to confront her change in perception, but for now, she would rest.

* * *

Videl and Krillin were making their way towards one of the deserted mountain areas that surrounded Satan city, both of them were currently in her jet copter, although Krillin seemed bafflingly amused at something as he climbed in and got ready to go as she fired the engine up and took off. They had made good time and eventually Videl could see a clearing in the forest where a small house where a tendril of smoke was lazily making its way into the sky via the chimney.

Eventually Krillin told her to put the copter down and the two had walked the rest of the way towards the house. Videl felt as though something had been watching her ever since she had gotten into the mountainous area, and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. When she mentioned this, Krillin had just smirked and muttered something under his breath that she couldn’t quite hear.

“Come on kid, let’s get there before sundown, we might get a nice home cooked meal too, something that’ll probably be a bit scarcer on your journey as it continues.”

Nodding, she followed the man as he walked over to the house she had seen earlier and knocked politely on the door.

For a moment nothing happened, but then the door was answered by a boy that was around her age with dark hair and dark eyes, dressed in a simple green shirt and black trousers. He had defined features and Videl swore that he had more muscle peeking through his clothes than was possible for a boy his age. Currently he was looking at Krillin quizzically, but he had glanced over at her briefly, a spark of recognition in his eyes. Krillin decided to break the silence with a question.

“Yo, Gohan. Wanna go on an adventure?”


	2. Somewhere

Videl felt her eyebrows rise as she took in the boy in front of her that Krillin wanted to take with them on their hunt for the Dragonballs. He looked fairly non-descript, wearing modest clothes of green trousers that looked as though they were rough hewn and a somewhat rumpled white shirt. His face didn’t seem to be all that memorable either, but when Videl tried to sense the boy’s presence, his gaze locked onto her and pinned her in place.

Videl became aware of her breath catching as she witnessed his intense stare, before he once more moved his gaze to Krillin and broke out into a dazzling smile. Videl let out a sigh of relief at that, for some reason she had been intimated by a boy her own age! How was he able to do that? The only people she had ever felt intimidated by were people who were far older than her (like Krillin and Master Roshi) or when she was facing down criminals who had guns and there was a threat of death. She also couldn’t feel anything like she had for Master Roshi or Krillin and that was somewhat puzzling to her.

“Nice to see you again Krillin, how’s 18?”

Videl was rather surprised. Although the boy, Gohan she believed Krillin had called him, had a slightly gravelly voice it was still soft spoken. She almost had to lean in to be able to hear him.

“18’s doing well, she’s been recovering well from all the stuff that happened a few years ago, our marriage is still going strong!”

Gohan’s smile grew at that as he offered congratulations to his friend. Just as Videl was getting somewhat ancy, they had come here for a purpose after all, Gohan’s gaze once again fell on her.

“And who’s this that’s traveling with you?”

Before Krillin had a chance to introduce her, she decided to interject herself into the conversation.

“Videl Satan, pleased to meet you.”

Her introduction accomplished, she thrust a hand forward expectantly. Gohan quirked an eyebrow at that, before smiling in a way that made her think she was about to be the butt of some sort of joke. However, he did grasp her hand and give a firm shake.

“Any relation to Hercule?”

Videl shot a questioning look at Krillin, but he merely shook his head and had the same sort of grin that Gohan was sporting. Rolling her eyes she looked back towards the boy and let go of his hand as she answered.

“Yeah he’s my dad. Not intimidating or anything is it?”

She definitely heard Krillin stifle a chuckle at that, but Gohan merely shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in an amicable way.

“Nah, was just curious. Although I’m kinda wondering why you’re pow wowing around with Krillin.”

Apparently Krillin had an answer for him.

“Awe, don’t be like that Gohan, in fact, I think Master Roshi said that she has potential.”

Videl was slightly confused as to what this could mean, but she wasn’t able to respond before Krillin continued.

“In fact, I think he wants me to take her on as an apprentice.”

Videl choked on any response that she had been trying to formulate as she looked over at the diminutive man. While she was proud of her father’s style and accomplishments, she was definitely curious as to how Krillin could have such a massive presence.

“As interesting as that is, what does that have to do with me going on an adventure?”

Krillin rubbed the back of his neck in response to that, almost as if he was embarrassed.

“Ah, well, it was more 18’s idea than anyone else. She thought it might be kinda weird for a grown man to travel alone with a thirteen year old girl.”

Before Videl was able to stop herself she was already snapping a response.

“I’m fourteen!”

Apparently the two males were only amused by that response.

“I can see your point.”

Videl physically stopped herself from growling at the boy. She needed to go on this journey, and if she learned some things from Krillin in the process than so much the better for her.

“One catch though, we’re going to have to tell my mom.”

Krillin visibly winced at that and Videl was curious as to why he would. Surely he had expected that they were going to have get permission from Gohan’s parent.

“Is Chi-Chi in right now?”

Before Gohan was able to respond, a voice came from the house interior behind him.

“What do you want Krillin?”

Krillin’s face rapidly paled as the owner of that voice stepped out from the door. She was a kind looking woman with dark brown eyes and dark brown hair pulled into a bun atop her head. Two locks of her hair hung by her ears and were flowing softly in the mountain breeze.

She had a hearty look to her as she was wearing a purple dress, a yellow sash, and sturdy brown boots. Over her shoulders was an orange kerchief that was tied near her neck.  As she crossed her arms Videl noticed that the woman was sporting a red bracelet on each wrist that jangled when she moved.

“Well, I’m waiting, are you here to take my baby again?”

Gohan winced at what Videl could only assume was his mother’s tone.

“Mom,” well that confirmed that, “I think he needs to have somebody watch his back. I guess this girl here is going to gather the Dragonballs.”

Gohan said this as he gestured to Videl, and she felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance at him not using her name. Crossing her arms and scowling she decided to correct him on his mistake.

“ _This girl_ has a name. One I just told you not even a minute ago. How hard can it be to remember? My last name is pretty famous.”

Although she had been grumbling the last part, Gohan’s mother narrowed her gaze onto her.

“Oh? And what is your name?”

Sighing, she decided to give her name once more. Meeting new people could be extremely annoying. This had to be around the fifth or sixth time that she had had to introduce herself in the span of the past two days, a commodity for someone who had become as famous as she had.

“The name’s Videl Satan. And before you ask, yes, Hercule is my dad.”

Her name merely got a raised eyebrow from Chi-Chi before the woman once more turned her gaze to Krillin.

“You _must_ be joking.”

Videl was a bit confused at that reaction as Krillin rubbed the back of his head and gave a small chuckle of embarrassment.

“Well, no. You’re looking at what I think might be my new student.”

Chi-chi snapped her gaze to Videl once more and Videl had to fight not to look away from the woman’s searching gaze. Tentatively she tried to feel out Chi-chi’s presence, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Gohan’s gaze had sharpened as she did so.

For a second she didn’t really sense anything, but that passed as she suddenly felt Chi-chi’s presence. Her eyes widened, while not on the level of Krillin, she could tell that this woman in front of her was _strong_ , most likely stronger than Videl.

“So, that old pervert wants Krillin to take on a student?”

Videl merely swallowed as she nodded in nervousness. She felt like she might be being tested by the woman in front of her, but she had no idea what she had to do to pass.

“Did you know that that style was the first one my husband had learned?”

Videl couldn’t keep her eyes from widening at that as she shot a look toward Krillin, who merely gave a small nod of acknowledgement.

“I think I need to see what has Krillin and the old pervert so set on you learning that style. How about this, Gohan can go with you if Miss Satan here can land a clean hit on me.”

Both Krillin and Gohan looked surprised at this, apparently they hadn’t thought that Chi-chi would make some sort of test for Videl.

“Mom-”

“I don’t think that’s-”

The two males were cut off as Chi-chi raised a hand, effectively silencing them. Her gaze had never wavered from Videl’s as she issued her challenge. However before Videl could answer, Chi-chi had one last thing to say.

“Even though it has been sometime since I’ve been in the tournament circuit, I’m still fully capable of vetting out regular Earth martial artists.”

Chi-chi finally snapped her gaze to the other two and they shrank back at that. Smirking the woman turned once more to Videl.

“Think of this as an initiation of sorts, Miss Satan. If you can fight me you can fight any other regular fighter on the planet.”

Videl was somewhat confused at the challenge and the mention of tournaments made her blood start to pump in anticipation. Videl had fought many, _many_ , people. However this was the first female fighter that she had come across that she felt might actually challenge her.

“I accept, just tell me where and when.”

Chi-chi smiled at that.

“Good girl, as for the when, no time like the present, and we’ll say…”

Chi-chi pointed in a general northern direction.

“…there’s a clearing a little bit north of here, it’s perfect for a small fight.”

Videl nodded and the two ladies began to walk towards the clearing. Videl heard the tell tale shuffling of footsteps behind her signaling that the two males had decided to tag along to watch the show. After a few minutes of walking they broke through the trees into a picturesque clearing in the middle of the woods.

Videl glanced around and noticed that the trees formed an almost perfect circle here, almost as if someone had deliberately made the clearing. Once they had made it to the middle, Chi-chi had stopped.

“Well then, I suppose Gohan will have to moderate, since Krillin will most likely be your teacher soon.”

Rolling his eyes good naturedly, Krillin responded.

“It’s not like Gohan is your son or anything.”

Chi-chi glared at the smaller man and he visibly wilted as the matriarch to the Son family let her silence do all the talking. Sighing and rubbing his head once more, Krillin just made a gesture as if to say get on with it.

“Fine, fine, I just want you to know that I would have been impartial. In fact, this can be my own test. Although Roshi said that you’re good, I’ve yet to see you really fight. Get that hit and I’ll definitely teach you Turtle Style Martial Arts.”

Videl nodded warily as she got into a loose fighting stance. Chi-chi smiled at her as Gohan walked forward and stood between the two fighters. Once her son was in the middle, the woman slid into her own stance, one fist pulled back towards her waist, legs a bit more than shoulder width apart and her other hand raised with two fingers up and curled.

Sighing Gohan raised his hand, before he brought it down rapidly, signaling for the two to begin.

Videl rushed forward immediately and went for a sweeping kick, but Chi-chi merely stepped over the attack and lashed out with a kick of her own that caught the teen in the side and sent her sprawling. However, Videl planted a hand and was able to flip back to her feet before her eyes widened and she had to fall backwards to avoid a kick that went sailing past her nose.

She wasn’t given any time to rest as Chi-chi then planted a foot and tried to bring an axe kick down on Videl’s body. However, at the last second Videl rolled out of the way as the foot smashed into the ground, cracking it in the process.

Videl’s eyes widened at that display of strength. How the hell did she keep running into these crazy people? This diminutive woman wasn’t that much bigger than Videl herself, and yet she was hiding that much strength in her tiny body? Gritting her teeth Videl went for another attack, this time trying for a punch, but it was easily redirected and all she got was an elbow to the stomach for her troubles.

Videl almost gagged at the blow, but even though Chi-chi hit hard, it had nothing on Roshi. Thinking quickly she grabbed the offending limb with both hands before launching into the air and lashing out with a kick.

Chi-Chi’s eyes widened at that and swayed backwards before she used a palm thrust on the now unbalanced Videl to send her to the ground once more. Videl allowed herself to bounce before she rolled back to her feet. Taking a moment, she examined her opponent.

Although their exchanges had been brief both women were now breathing much harder, although it seemed as though Videl was catching her breath quicker. Perhaps the fact that Chi-Chi hadn’t really fought in a while had left her with lower stamina? If that was the case then Videl needed to push the woman, and perhaps make her tired with other tactics.

“I gotta admit, that’s pretty good for someone who hasn’t been in the tournament scene for awhile.”

Chi-chi merely smiled at that comment.

“Oh honey, the tournament scene nowadays is _nothing_. I fought when there were _monsters_ in there. However, once I had my first child I decided to leave the fighting to my fighting maniac husband.”

Here Chi-chi’s smile became much smugger than it had been before.

“That doesn’t mean years of ingrained training just goes away though. I’d say you’re not too bad, but let’s see if you can actually beat my challenge.”

Videl scoffed, her breath completely recovered.

“I’ll do one better and beat you!”

That said she sprung towards the woman once more, who sidestepped Videl’s first spinning kick and went for another palm thrust, but just as she was doing so, Videl accelerated herself so that she had twirled around and was able to grab Chi-chi’s arm. With a shout, Videl hauled with all her might and was able to send the surprised woman flying. However, Chi-chi merely flipped and landed cleanly on her feet.

Videl decided to try and press her advantage. She ran at the more experienced fighter and began an all out assault. Kicks, elbows, knees, punches, she tried everything, but the more she did the more Chi-chi merely blocked her and eventually Videl was struck with a counter that sent her sprawling once more.

Cursing in her head, Videl rolled out of the way of a dropping knee and flipped to her feet once more using her hands. This woman was _good_. Every attack she tried was either countered or redirected. The older woman smirked at her as she straightened from her last attack.

“You seem to be having fun, if that smile is anything to go by.”

Smile? Was she smiling? Videl felt her face and realized that she had a contorted it into a wide smile. She pondered that for a minute before coming to a conclusion. She had been searching for something like this. Something that pushed her to her limits, something that she _knew_ she could win if she broke through those limits. This wasn’t fighting street thugs or fighting a monster like Roshi. This woman was maybe a tad bit stronger than her, but because of that, Videl felt herself becoming sharper with every hit, getting that much closer to the goal laid out.

Videl almost felt like laughing, _this_ , this was something that she had been craving and hadn’t even known. No one in the soon to be named Satan City could give her this kind of challenge. She might have felt it when she first began encountering the underground elements of the city, but it had faded the longer she had fought.

What she was feeling now was a _challenge_. She had found someone who pushed her to be better and she was going to grab this opportunity with everything she had. She heard a small laugh come from Chi-chi as the woman once more took her stance.

“I swear, I’m surrounded by battle maniacs, at least there’s a bit of a woman’s touch this time.”

Videl didn’t let her smile fade as she once more launched herself at Chi-Chi. She needed to be that much faster, that much more intelligent in her fight, that much stronger. She felt her muscles scream as she began to expand her awareness, tapping into the recently unlocked power within her unconsciously and once more beginning to glow.

Chi-Chi’s eyes widened when tendrils of white energy began to roll off of Videl, but she immediately narrowed her eyes in determination.

It was as Videl was once more going for a punch that Chi-chi grabbed the girl’s arm and tossed her towards the trees. She felt a sense of satisfaction as she noticed that the girl’s form had been completely shot. However, midair she righted herself and smashed into one of the outer trees feet first.

Videl let her knees bend at the impact before she pumped her new power through her legs, not nearly as much as she had when fighting Roshi, she needed to hone this power, it was a tool for  her to use, not for it to use her.

With an explosion of wood Videl rocketed from the tree once more toward her opponent. She vaguely recognized the brief look of shock, but the Chi-chi’s defenses were up once more. Videl grit her teeth and decided to do something unexpected. She pulled her hands in and felt her body fling past Chi-Chi’s guard. A second later the two women’s heads collided with a thundering crack that rang out across the clearing.

Videl thought she heard shouts of exclamation from the two males who had been watching the fight, but her attention diverted to the woman she had been fighting.

She felt a deep sense of accomplishment just before blackness took her as she realized that the woman had been knocked out cold. She had won. With that final thought she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Krillin shook his head at what he supposed was now his new apprentice. He could see what Master Roshi saw within the girl. The fact that she had been unconsciously channeling ki was nothing short of impressive. The last person he could remember that had taken to ki that easily was Goku, and that guy had been a freaking alien.

He gave a glance over to Chi-chi who was coming to as her son gently cradled her head. That last hit had been a shock, something that he might’ve expected from a kid Saiyan, not Hercule’s daughter. And wasn’t that a weird concept. Never mind the fact that the man had somehow procreated, apparently his daughter had a potential that the man himself definitely did not. It almost made him curious about who the girl’s mother was.

“Yo, Gohan, what’d you think?”

Gohan gave a contemplative glance toward the now unconscious Satan child, and Krillin heard the sound of soft snores. Krillin let out a snort at that. He needed to work on the girl’s stamina, she didn’t even use her ki that long and she was now out like a light.

“I think that I’m pretty surprised.”

The kid paused there as though searching for the right words before continued onwards.

“Mr. Satan wasn’t really all that impressive a few years ago. I never would’ve expected his daughter to be as strong as she is.”

Krillin let a knowing gleam in his eye as he elbowed his best friend’s son.

“And she’s a pretty decent looker too, huh?”

Krillin felt the satisfaction of the dusting of pink forming on the most powerful being in the universe’s cheeks.

“Shut up.”

Even though it was a small mutter, Krillin let out a boisterous laugh at Gohan’s comment. He needed to make sure to rib the kid, being stuck in the mountains with only his mom, little brother, and schoolbooks made the kid far too serious.

“I think that you’d make a cute couple.”

Before Gohan could retort, Chi-chi made it apparent that she had recovered from her short bout of concussion.

“What’s this, have you got a crush Gohan?”

Gohan glared at Krillin and the man only lifted his hands in a sort of apologetic manner. Rolling his eyes, the demi-Saiyan lifted his mother back to her feet.

“Well, Mom, I’d say that she got a clean hit, she even managed to make it a draw instead of the one hit challenge that you had originally.”

Chi-Chi rolled her eyes as she gave her son a light glare.

“Well, I hadn’t expected her to use ki all of a sudden. She was even able to manipulate it to give her a boost. Honestly, how long has she had that ability?”

Krillin let out a low chuckle at the question. He was sure that Chi-Chi would be surprised.

“Apparently…yesterday. Roshi  gave her a bit of a test. Pretty similar to yours I think, but I didn’t really see it. That’s why this was a better litmus for her, no offense Chi-Chi, but Roshi’s stronger than you.”

Chi-Chi merely huffed in response as she went to the girl. Crouching down, the woman lifted Videl with ease and placed her over her shoulder. Her task done she began to walk back towards the house. Krillin supposed he should just count himself lucky that the woman was being fairly amicable, even though because of her loss her son was going to go on what was promising to be another crazy adventure.

A glance in their direction and the woman called out.

“Well, are you two coming or not? Dinner will be ready soon.”

Krillin and Gohan gave calls of acknowledgement after trading a quick glance and the two bounded over to Chi-Chi in a single jump causing the woman to shake her head. However before they completely left the clearing she obtained a glint in her eye.

“So Gohan, when can I expect grandbabies?”

Gohan appeared to choke on his spit at the question and his face flamed red causing Krillin to laugh uproariously. He had forgotten that Chi-Chi really knew how to push the kid’s buttons at the most unexpected times.

“Mom!”

With a content sigh Krillin followed his best friend’s family back to their house. He would make sure that he saved some of the food for Videl, the girl was likely to be starving when she came to.

* * *

Videl slowly returned to consciousness, noticing a delectable smell drifting into her nose first. She opened her eyes slowly, to see an unfamiliar curved ceiling. Shooting up, she immediately regretted that decision as she had to make the world stop spinning before she could get her bearings.

“Woah there, we gotta stop meeting like this. I hope you don’t make it a habit.”

Videl’s eyes shot to a comfy looking red armchair chair occupied by Krillin. Looking around she noticed that she was in a comfortable living room and that she had taken over the couch. She felt something cool on her chest and looked down to see a wet cloth that had obviously been on her head before she had awakened.

“Where-”

Before she had even finished her question Chi-Chi came into the room, bowl of rice and meat in her hand. Although the bowl looked far too large for Videl, the smell made her stomach growl in anguish, filling the entire room.

She blushed in embarrassment as Krillin gave a small laugh and Chi-Chi smiled indulgently.

“I supposed you might be hungry after using your ki like you did.”

So saying, Chi-Chi thrust the bowl into Videl’s waiting arms and gave her a pair of chopsticks. A brief “Itadakimasu” and Videl was gorging on the meal. She knew that she probably looked like a pig, but she was too hungry and the food was too good for her to really care. Soon the entire bowl was gone and Videl was feeling much more content. She placed the chopsticks on the bowl and clapped her hands together.

“Gochisousama deshita.”

She blushed once more when she noticed the amused looks from Krillin and Chi-Chi. However, when she glance around she noticed that Gohan was nowhere in sight.

“Where’s Gohan?”

Chi-Chi had a strange glint in her eye at that question and Krillin looked incredibly amused.

“Oh, looks like someone’s got a bit of a crush?”

Videl stared blankly at Krillin for a moment before she felt her cheeks warm.

“It’s not like that! The entire reason I fought Chi-Chi was to get him to go with us to gather the Dragonballs.”

Krillin gave a low chuckle at that.

“Oh, you didn’t just want to impress his mom so that she would approve of your budding relationship?”

Videl glared at Krillin, but the man just looked incredibly amused at the situation that the girl found herself in. Raising his hands in apology, it became Chi-Chi who answered Videl’s question shifting her attention to her former opponent.

“He’s looking after his brother at the moment. I was just here to make sure that you were okay and to get some food into you. Even though you’ve only started using ki, it’s still your energy and that has to come from somewhere.”

Krillin nodded as Videl tried to puzzle out what the woman meant by ki. Seeing her puzzled look Krillin decided to expound upon Chi-Chi’s comment.

“Ki is energy that everyone has the potential to use, although it is most commonly found in Martial Artists. It’s an energy that allows us to fight stronger, faster, and longer. Once you’ve really mastered ki manipulation you’ll even be able to fly.”

Videl scoffed at that, she knew that the ability to fly were just wire tricks, but Krillin merely raised his eyebrows at her before he slowly started to float into the air.

Videl felt her jaw drop at that. Even with her eagle eyes she could see no wires anywhere near the man. He really did seem to be floating in midair.

“How-”

Her question was cut off by the currently _flying_ man.

“You’ve already begun to harness you’re ki and you’re a natural sensor. When we first met you were able to feel my own ki, even though I wasn’t consciously channeling any of it.”

Videl felt her brain almost freeze at that and the implications of the floating man in front of her. Her dad had lied. Her dad had lied to everyone. Her dad had lied to _her_.

She felt a sting at that. If he had lied about the ability to fly, what else had he lied about?

“However, it might be a bit before I teach you how to do this.”

Her eyes snapped back to Krillin, viciously shoving down the complicated feelings that had been trying to consume her a moment ago. She felt her eyes widen as she realized what he was saying. The man gave her a small smile as he touched back down on the chair.

“I did say that I’d train you if you were able to pass Chi-Chi’s challenge, and you did pass, with flying colors.”

The woman in question merely grumbled as she collected the dish from Videl.

“A lucky shot, who headbutts people nowadays?”

Krillin snorted at that.

“I think the answer is your own son, but I guess that might be a story for a different time.”

As Chi-Chi bustled out of the room Krillin turned his attention to Videl once more and clapped his hands together to rub his palms.

“So… you’ve passed my test, we’re now gonna have a Dragonball in our possession and Gohan is gonna be along for the ride. An all around successful day I’d say. Just one last thing.”

Krillin straightened and his expression went from a slightly teasing one to something much more serious.

“The Turtle School has been around for a long time now, as of right now I’m the only living full time practitioner. Master Roshi is pretty much retired and the others either have other styles as well, or they have let their skills go in favor of other endeavors. I guess what I’m trying to say is… would you like to learn under me?”

Videl thought over the offer for a moment as the man waited patiently. She knew that by doing this she was taking a step in a direction that would open her eyes to the true possibilities of Martial Arts that Roshi had mentioned. However, if she went through with this she would also be abandoning her dad. She felt a pang at that thought, but another, crueler, part of her thought that he was getting what he deserved. She squashed that part down and tried to look at the offer objectively.

On the one hand, she would be learning how to utilize this ki thing and eventually she could _fly_. She had to admit that the thought of being able to fly under her own power made her somewhat giddy with excitement, but if that was the only reason she was sure she could figure it out herself if she tried. Krillin had said that she was natural at ki manipulation after all. However, she was a bit wary of this thinking. Both times she had used that power, she had ended up passed out in an unfamiliar house. What if she went too far and accidently drained herself dry? She was sure that that would have dire consequences.

On the other hand she had been training proudly in her father’s style for as long as she could remember. She knew that she was proud of her accomplishments with that style, but apparently it was too tame to compete with the Martial Arts world that she wanted to step into.

If Chi-Chi had merely been the gateway and people like Roshi and Krillin were what awaited her at the end of the rabbit hole, then her father’s style would _not_ be strong enough to stand on that stage. Which begged the question, how had her dad beat Cell?

Crushing that question into the deepest recesses of her mind for now, she looked up at the patiently waiting Krillin.

“Can I-”

She stopped as her voice came out as more of a croak than she had thought. She supposed she had spent more time thinking on the issue than she had thought she had. Clearing her throat, she attempted to answer once more.

“Can I have a night to think about it?”

Krillin gave a slow nod as he got up from his chair.

“Sure thing, kiddo. Just know that if you want to stand on the _real_ stage of Martial Arts, not just in a tournament, one of the best ways is to go after the Dragonballs. I’ll respect your decision no matter what, but I can safely say that your dad’s style isn’t suited to what we might encounter. Just think on that.”

His words hurt, but she could see the truth in them. Videl was on the cusp and she would stay on that cusp if she stuck with her dad’s fighting style. She knew he didn’t utilize ki, knew that it was for tournaments, she had already begun to incorporate other things into her fighting to deal with the thugs in the city.

Krillin excused himself as Videl laid back and stared at the ceiling. Her mind was in turmoil, so she decided to use something to test whether or not she would accept Krillin’s offer, her fight that she had had not even a few hours ago.

She had never felt more alive in that fight. Thugs were nothing special to her now, even the ones with guns went down pretty easily. Anyone she had fought in her father’s dojo had fallen to her prowess eventually. She had competed in the junior tournaments and had been excited to be challenged, before she crushed the competition and rose to the top. Her father hadn’t fought her in _months_ (and now she was beginning to have horrible suspicions about that).

It hadn’t been until she fought Master Roshi that she had been thoroughly outclassed. When she had fought Chi-Chi she had felt something she had not felt since she had begun Martial Arts. Excitement.

She had been excited to fight someone who could push her. She had been excited to see if she could break past her limits. She remembered the thrill that went through her as she realized that she was able to deal a knockout blow to the woman who had had her on the ropes the entire fight.

As Videl drifted off into sleep she came to her decision. She was sure that she had made the right one, not only because of what she had felt today, but also because of the trials that were to come if she went after the Dragonballs.

* * *

Krillin sat cross legged on a rock by a waterfall within the woods with his eyes closed. He had been meditating ever since he had woken up, trying to feel whether or not he was doing the right thing in taking an apprentice. Everything had pointed to the fact that that was the right decision, but he didn’t know how well he would adapt to being a teacher.

All of his life he had been a student, first to the monks and then to Roshi. He had gone on grand adventures that he had never in his wildest dreams would have expected. Hell, he had been to other _planets_.

He had faced off against terrifying evil, had died more than once and had also been resurrected more than once. He had a beautiful girlfriend whom he intended to make his wife. He had lived a crazy life and not all of his friends had made it to this point, but was he ready to teach?

Well, the offer was made, now he just needed to wait for the girl to decide. If she decided against becoming his apprentice, then that was fine. If she did become his apprentice, then he would do everything in his power to make her as strong as he possibly could.

He let his senses expand for a moment and felt Videl’s approaching ki as she headed towards him. He quirked an eyebrow, apparently she was able to sense him even when he was suppressing his own ki. Or she had just asked where he had gone, yeah that was more likely. He calmed his racing heart as the girl walked toward his rock. With a content sigh he opened his eyes and saw Videl standing near him, hands on her hips and looking determined. He supposed it was good that she was headstrong, if he taught her he would know how to deal with any kind of devious tendencies, much like his own had once been, so long ago.

He snapped his attention to the girl as she took a deep breath and clenched her fists at her sides.

“I’ve thought long and hard about what I want to do, and I’ve come to an answer.”

Krillin kept his silence, waiting for her to speak her mind. With a nod she brought her fist in front of her face and soft white tendrils began to expunge from the hand. Almost as soon as she had done so, she stopped.

“Even just that makes me feel fatigued, and now that I know about ki, I know I need to learn to control it. So far I’ve only used it in admittedly friendly spars. Even though I was seriously outclassed the first time and got a lucky hit in the last time, I know that I do it unconsciously. Even if we go our separate ways, I’m still going to use the ki.”

Taking a deep breath, Videl once more looked at Krillin.

“So if you’ll have me, I’ll study under you, Master Krillin.”

Krillin felt a small smile form on his face at that. Master Krillin. It had a nice ring to it.

“I think we’ll get along just fine, kiddo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once more just copying the ff.net author's note.
> 
> And another chapter made! Man, I had wanted to update this for awhile, but real life has been quite busy. I’ve also had a bit of general writer’s block when I did have free time, so I made a smaller RWBY fic to jog the cobwebs loose. If you’re into RWBY give it a look.
> 
> I’m feeling pretty good about this fic so far, the feedback has been wonderfully positive, and I hope that I met expectations with this second outing. The fact that I got over 100 follows and 70 favorites in such a large fanfic section really makes my day and all of the reviews have been quite welcomed. I’m kinda weird in that any kind of review/fav/follow always brings a smile to my face, even in my more popular stories like Lucid or Gallant, so for every person that does so, I do notice! And I thank all of you form the bottom of my heart. 
> 
> It was actually quite fun to write the fight between Videl and Chi-Chi. I’ve always preferred Chi-Chi as the warrior princess that she actually is in Dragonball to the more caricature that she became in Z. I also think that of the fighters that Videl has interacted with so far, Chi-Chi is probably the closest to her level so that gives some nice growth. I said that more minor character’s would be coming, and Chi-Chi’s time to shine proves that a bit I’d say. Next chapter we might be meeting someone who has a certain sneezing condition (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) so that should be interesting.
> 
> Welp, I’ve rambled for long enough. Once again, no beta so any spelling, grammar errors, or typos are due to that. Questions, comments, concerns? PM me! If you’re feeling kind, leave a review or hit that fav/follow button. Like I was saying every time it happens it makes me smile. Now then onto the disclaimer, cuz woot woot bottom!
> 
> Disclaimer: DragonBall, DragonBall Z, and DragonBall GT are all owned by Funamation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Akira Toriyam! Please support the official release!


	3. I Can't Go Back to Yesterday

Videl grinned at her now new master even as he rubbed his head sheepishly, although the slightly smug grin he was sporting cast his sheepish look into some doubt.

“Well, I’m definitely glad that you decided to accept.”

Videl gave a small nod before she remembered something.

“Wait, you said we got one of the Dragonballs? When did that happen, and which one is it?”

Krillin looked confused for a moment before his expression cleared.

“Oh yeah, I forgot I didn’t tell you that Gohan was the person who’s the keeper of the four star Dragonball. He inherited it from his grandfather. After your match with Chi-Chi yesterday, he agreed to come along and to lend you the four star. We just need to make sure to find it again after we grant your wish.”

Videl felt her heart leap in her throat at that. They had already gotten a Dragonball!? It hadn’t even been a day! She was already that much closer to being able to ask the eternal dragon to grant her deepest wish.

“That’s kind of important! The entire reason I agreed to train with you and to go on this trip is to get the Dragonballs! A little heads up would be nice for future reference!”

Krillin merely laughed it off sheepishly.

“Well, you’re not wrong, how about I show you what the Dragonball looks like, that way you can get a feel for what it is you’re going to be looking for.”

He reached into his shirt and pulled out one of the most spherical glass balls that Videl had ever seen. There was no flaw in the orange glass, and inside were four darker orange stars. The Dragonball seemed to be almost luminescent in the morning sun and Videl could for the first time, since the mystical wish granting Dragonballs were mentioned how she might now truly be living in a fairy tale.

Just looking at the Dragonball gave a sense of mysticism and wonderment that she had not felt since her mother had told her stories of princesses and princes and happily ever afters. Here was the proof she needed that her journey would not be one of fallacy, but that if she remained determined, she would be able to achieve her goal.

“It’s…”

Videl searcher he memory for a way to describe the little orange ball held in Krillin’s hand, but she decided that there was only one that fit her own mood at the moment.

“…beautiful.”

Krillin grinned as he tossed the ball in the air expertly before snatching it and storing it back in his shirt.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty intense feeling when you first see them. The only thing better is when we actually get all seven of them together and summon the Dragon. Then you’ll be in for a real treat.”

Videl nodded her agreement and then focused on her master as he walked over to the rock that he had been sitting on. Placing a hand on the rock he gave it a slap or two before he nodded.

“Alright, now first things first, this’ll be the test you need to pass before we move on. You’re a natural at utilizing ki so far, but now we need to hone that ability and increase your stamina. So we’re gonna begin a bit slow.”

Once Krillin said that he lightly tapped the rock with his fist and for a second nothing happened. Then, out of nowhere, the rock crumbled into dust as Videl felt her eyes widen in amazement.

“What you have to do is learn how to apply your ki into everyday instances and to regulate it through your muscles so that even as we tear them down, you build them up. By the end of this week you should be able to at least destroy the rock into chunks, even if you can’t do what I just did.

Videl looked to the rock then back to her master in disbelief before looking at the rock again. How the hell was she supposed to copy that!?

“I can see you have questions, well for the first answer, we’re gonna work on your stamina with this!”

Krillin cheerily went over to another rock that was nearby and lifted a purple turtle shell up with one hand.

“I’m not sure how familiar you are with weighted training, but it’s the best way to begin to train your stamina and will help you with ki regulation. So, while we’re doing this training I want you to have this turtle shell on at all times, the only times when it can come off are when you bathe and when you sleep.”

Videl nodded in understanding. She had done some light weight training before and had used wrists and ankle braces, she assumed the turtle shell would be like a backpack full of rocks similar to what some of her dads’ students used to try and increase their endurance.

So it was an incredible surprise that when she went to take the shell from Krillin, she fell over from the unexpected increase in weight. This was _way_ heavier than she had ever used. What the hell did Krillin do to this thing to make it so freaking heavy!? It had to weigh almost 100 pounds!

“Since I’ve already seen some of what you can do I’ve taken the liberty and adjusted the weight according to what I think it should be for you. I think eighty pounds is a good starting point, don’t you?”

Videl looked blankly at Krillin then looked down at the shell and realized something important.

“Wait, wasn’t Roshi wearing one of these?”

Krillin looked slightly surprised that she had remembered that small detail, but he gave a dutiful nod nonetheless.

“Yeah, he’s the one who really started the tradition of our own weighted clothing. I may not look it, but I’m carrying a lot of extra weight with me! It also helps ki manipulation so that we don’t keel over from the weight we’re carrying around!”

Videl eyed the shell warily as she slipped it onto her back and immediately began to feel the effects, it almost felt like there was another her on her back. This was already getting crazy.

“Alright, so I think we’ll start by delivering milk to the mountain area around us.”

Videl looked blankly at her master.

“We’re gonna do what?”

Krillin grumbled as he produced a crate of milk bottles from somewhere.

“I swear, this must be a sign that I’m getting old. Who the hell doesn’t know about milk delivery services anymore?”

Videl rolled her eyes and tried to shift to be comfortable, aware of the weight on her back and the bite of the straps into her shoulders.

“Anyway, unlike the city, we’re way out in the mountains and they need to have their milk delivered by the glass bottles, see?”

Videl nodded as she counted the bottles in the crate, there were about twenty-eight in all.

“Alright, let’s get going then.”

Videl brought out her trusty copter capsule, but before she could do anything, she was stopped by Krillin.

“Woah, woah, woah. Who said anything about using any kinda machines to finish these deliveries? This is something you gotta do with your own power!”

Videl stared blankly at Krillin for a moment before her eye began to twitch.

“You-”

She licked her lips and tried again, surely she had heard her master wrong.

“You want me to run and deliver all of these bottles?”

Krillin grinned widely as he nodded enthusiastically.

“Exactly! This was one of the first exercises I did as a student, and with the shell it’s a great way to build stamina and speed! Hop to it!”

Sighing Videl went over and picked up the crate of milk. Although not overly heavy, she knew that the longer she went without putting the milk down the more strain her muscles would endure.

“Ki’s all about mind over matter, Videl. Although you’re pretty good at subconsciously using it, we need you to do it consciously for it to work in you r favor, otherwise you’ll be forever stuck and unable to realize your full potential. Best of luck!”

His pearl of wisdom said Krillin began to walk back towards the Son residence, whistling a merry tune as he went.

Videl watched him go and grit her teeth in preparation. She had wanted this, so she would take this training, and she would become a better fighter with it! Her mind set and stubbornness bleeding through her being, she set out on the road to begin her round of milk deliveries at a light jog. Sure she might be exhausted by the end of this, but that was the worst that could happen right?

* * *

Krillin watched as his student began a slow jog out into the world. He had to admit, seeing her run with that turtle shell on her back and carrying around a crate of milk sure did give him a sense of nostalgia. It seemed only yesterday that he had been trying to con Goku and get a leg up on his training.

Chuckling to himself, Krillin leapt into the air and hovered over his student, just out of sight. He knew that there were many sorts of predators in this mountainous area, but he also knew that Videl had an incredible amount of pride.

Even though he had only known her for a few days, she reminded him of himself a little bit, once upon a time, incredibly stubborn and not prone to taking advice if he couldn’t see the benefit. He drifted in the air calmly as he felt a presence make itself known next to him. He tilted his head and saw that Gohan had decided to come and watch the spectacle as it were.

“Yo, Gohan, here to stalk your crush?”

Gohan rolled his eyes as he crossed his legs in the air and got comfortable.

“Naw, just making sure you didn’t inherit any bad traits from Roshi, it’d be pretty hard to explain some of his habits to people in the city nowadays.”

Krillin almost fell out of the air at what his friend was implying.

“Oh, come on! I’m a taken man, plus she’s way too young for me!”

Gohan grinned before an amicable silence fell upon them. The two of them were no strangers to waiting around for something to happen. They both had a knack for patience and it helped that both were familiar enough to enjoy the silence as it was. A faint sound of birds chirping carried on the wind up to their position.

“Hey, Gohan, I know this might be a bit late, but how are you doing, really?”

Gohan gazed at the ground, but Krillin knew that he wasn’t seeing anything in his line of vision. He was probably somewhere else entirely.

“It still hurts.”

Krillin winced at that statement and the tone it was made in. He had thought that Gohan might still be smarting about what had happened to his dad, but he hadn’t known that it was still bothering the kid this much.

“Hey, man. I know it sucks, but you’ve got a buncha people if you need to talk, me, Bulma, Piccolo, Vegeta-”

Gohan snorted at that last name and Krillin couldn’t help but grin at that.

“-well, maybe not Vegeta, but Tien and Yamcha and the rest can be counted on.”

Gohan nodded his understanding and the two once more fell into silence as Videl made it to the first house and delivered the milk. She looked a bit sheepish if her body language was anything to go by as the residents greeted her and most likely thanked her. It was an incredibly peaceful morning, and the warm rays falling on Krillin’s face were definitely inviting him to relax. If not for his new student he might have tried to find a good spot for a hammock and try for a nice nap.

It was just as he was thinking of how peaceful everything was that he heard Gohan mutter something that made his heart begin to beat a bit more rapidly.

“Uh oh.”

Raising an eyebrow, Krillin looked toward his student and saw that she was still going fairly strong despite beginning to look a bit tired. Following her projected path Krillin saw what had Gohan slightly worried.

“Hmph, she should be fine, nothing to worry about. I’ve had the same thing happen to me when I was doing this exercise.”

Gohan looked quizzically at that admittance, but he shrugged and nodded anyway. After all he had had something similar happen to him during his training as well and had gotten stronger for it, so nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Krillin clapped his hands together, he wished he had thought to bring a camera, because his student’s expression was probably going to be priceless once he got back down and talked to her.

* * *

Videl was beginning to feel the effects of carrying all the extra weight and her arms were now on fire as she grit her teeth in stubbornness. She would not be beaten by milk of all things! She was strong enough for this exercise and she would see it through damn it.

She had now delivered more than half of the milk and while it was still a strain to carry, she thought she might actually be getting used to the weight of the turtle shell on her back. She wasn’t sure why she was getting used to it so fast, but it was much easier to move around in than it had been only a few hours ago when she had begun her journey.

Still even with her becoming accustomed, the longer this exercise went on, the more tired she became. Already it felt like her legs would soon be turning to jelly and her arms were mere noodles compared to what they had been when she had started. A sheen of sweat had grown throughout the day and she was sure her clothes were ridiculously disheveled.

However, for all the intensity the training was offering her, she had never felt better. She was becoming so much more in tune with her own body as the sun marched across the sky and it was nearing noon. She had only one more bottle to deliver and then she was done. She grinned as she got ready for her victory. Of course that was when it had to all go to hell.

The first thing she noticed was the smell. It smelled like sweat and dead animals. The next was the slight shaking of the ground. With a sinking heart, Videl looked behind her and confirmed what she already knew.

There towards the end of the road she was on, was a tyrannosaurus. The lizard was huge, easily twenty feet tall, and it was slowly approaching her form. For one glorious moment Videl thought that the giant lizard had not seen her, but that hope was utterly dashed as it gave a mighty roar and began running toward her.

Videl didn’t stop to think, she merely took off as fast as she could with the shell on her. She needed to get away and get away fast!

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!!!!!_

Videl was running as fast as she could, but she knew that the dinosaur was gaining on her. She knew that she was too tired to outrun it by normal means. In order to complete her exercise she would have to draw up the ki energy that Krillin had talked about consciously. The only problem was they hadn’t really touched on how to do that yet.

Videl took a deep breath and tried to remember the times she had utilized the power. She always felt as though her entire being was being thrust into a single attack, but now she had to divert that instinct and have it be moved towards her tired muscles. If she could do that, she was sure she would be able to outrun this idiot dinosaur.

_Alright Videl, deep breaths. Calm your mind and focus on what you want to do. This is just another way to train and another way to get stronger._

Videl closed her eyes as she ran and tried to reach for the power that she knew was there, just waiting to be called.

Unknown to her, she had begun to regulate her ki instinctively as the deliveries went on, hence how she had been able to become accustomed to the shell that was on her back. When she calmed herself and reached into her being, she found that it flowed surprisingly easily to her call.

Her eyes snapped open and with a kick that shattered the path she was on, she sprung forward in a massive leap, rocketing faster than she ever had before. Another kick and she rocketed faster and further before repeating the gesture.

Soon she couldn’t hear the dinosaur anymore and she was rocketing towards her final destination at a speed she _knew_ she hadn’t been capable of yesterday. Laughing to herself in exhilaration she landed by the farm that was her last stop and knocked on the door.

The denizens of the household were polite enough and Videl gave a short bow before making her way back towards the Son household. When she arrived there, she saw that Krillin was sitting on the roof of the house meditating, while Gohan was standing on his chimney looking at the sky with his arms crossed.

Videl noticed that the boy had changed into something a bit more suited to martial arts, fairly similar to Krillin’s own style. She decided that she wouldn’t comment on it for now as she made her way over to her Master, who cracked an eye open as she approached.

When she got close enough he opened his other eye and smiled down at her proudly.

“I gotta say, I didn’t realize it was a tradition for someone to run into a dinosaur when they begin their real training, but congrats on continuing that one!”

Videl felt her jaw hang open at that. Was that jerk watching that entire time!?

Krillin jumped off the roof in an effortless flip and landed near the girl. She knew that she was sweaty, disheveled, and probably all around gross, but she just couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Seriously, it’s freaky how good you are with ki manipulation. It took me quite a bit longer to get used to a shell.”

Videl’s eyes widened as she glanced back and noticed that the purple turtle shell was still strapped to her back. She had honestly forgotten it was there! Apparently ki was good for letting someone run around with a massive amount of weight on their back.

“Now that you’re here, wash up and get some food. Afterwards we’ll work on meditating so you can bring out your ki in an instant in case you need to make a quick getaway again.”

Videl nodded and began heading inside, as she passed the door she looked up and realized that Gohan had been looking at her, but she couldn’t discern what he was thinking about from his expression. Shrugging she made in inside and put it out of her mind, if he had something to say to her, he would say it.

* * *

Krillin watched as his student walked in to wash up and get some food. True, he had been ready to help her out if she needed it and when the dinosaur had been gaining on her he had been ready to jump in, but Gohan had stopped him.

Then to his astonishment, the girl had once more drawn on her ki, but much more smoothly than she had before and had rocketed away from the danger, leaving the carnivore in the dust. Damn but his student was a fast learner.

“So Gohan, what was with the look?”

Gohan tilted his head as he turned his attention from the front of the door to Krillin.

“What look?”

Krillin rolled his eyes at the young half-saiyan. Sometimes it was hard to tease country bumpkins.

“I mean you were totally checking out my student, weren’t you?”

Krillin felt the satisfaction of his little buddy flaming up in embarrassment. Ah puberty, how he had been glad to see the tail end of it. As long as he was explicit in his teasing he was sure to get a reaction.

With a small kick Gohan flipped over to Krillin and landed with no sound whatsoever by him.

“You know it’s not like that Krillin, I’m just surprised.”

Krillin raised an eyebrow at that. He knew Gohan wasn’t surprised at the fact that Videl was a competent fighter just because of her gender, so it must have to do with her parentage.

“This about Hercule?”

Gohan gave a small nod of his head at that. Although all of them had decided to let Hercule have the glory, Krillin had always wondered if Gohan hadn’t been at least a bit bitter about things. After all the man had pretty much called everything they stood for a fraud.

Krillin himself was past caring about such things and he considered it a bit of Karmic justice that he had gotten that doofus’ daughter to begin training to be a true martial artist rather than the cookie cutter one she would have been if she had stayed on the path of Hercule’s own brand of fighting.

“I’m actually kinda amazed that that guy was able to have a daughter who’s able to manipulate her ki so easily. We both know how much of a fraud he is, it makes me wonder how they interact.”

Krillin gave a shrug in response to that question, even though he knew it wasn’t really directed at him.

“Probably how any sort of parent and child interact with one another.”

Gohan’s eyes flashed for a second, with some sort of emotion, before he settled down. Krillin knew that Gohan was a bit broodier nowadays, but he decided that some teasing couldn’t hurt.

“I’m more surprised that she’s such a looker, eh?”

Krillin said this as he gave a light elbow to Gohan’s side and the boy merely rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“Careful, pretty sure 18 doesn’t like men with wandering eyes.”

Krillin laughed at that. Seemed he was able to at least get his friend to respond to some of the jabs.

“Amen to that. I meant as to the fact that you were checking her out.”

Gohan rolled his eyes and grumbled as he walked towards the house. Krillin merely grinned before follow after the two teens, it would be good for Gohan to be around someone his own age. The kid had too little friends as it was and the ones he did have were mostly his friend by association with his dad. He was sure that the two would be good friends once they got over their awkwardness with one another and actually talked like regular human beings. And hell, if they hit it off as more than friends, cool, he could strike matchmaker off his bucket list.

* * *

After they had gotten something to eat and cleaned up, the three made their way to the clearing that Videl and Chi-Chi had had their challenge in. Videl glanced around and wondered where the matriarch had gone to for the day. She hadn’t seen her the entire time she had been in the house. Before she was able to ask, Gohan answered her unspoken question.

“My mom went to town to shop and took Goten with her to keep out of our hair today. She said something about crazy fight nuts getting along with each other better when she wasn’t around.”

Videl felt a bit sheepish at that, but she was definitely not going to apologize for having fun in a fight. She had come on this trip to find the Dragonballs, but to do that she needed to get stronger and if that meant she had to fight strong opponents, so be it.

“Well, when the two of you are done flirting, we can get to what we’re supposed to be doing.”

Videl felt a faint dusting of pink near her ears even as Gohan responded.

“How can you possibly call that flirting, what type of strange flirting do you do with 18 where you discuss where your mother is at the moment?”

Krillin gave a small cough, before he turned his attention once more to Videl.

“Alright now, kiddo. You’ve been using an explosive amount of ki each time you’ve tapped into it, but today showed me you can use it just as well to enhance what you’ve already got. So this exercise is to help you access and feel the power that you have within you.”

Krillin then dropped to the ground and crossed his legs in a traditional meditative pose followed only a second later by Gohan who copied the pose. Videl shrugged and followed suit, although she thought her legs might begin to cramp the longer she sat like this.

Krillin gave a small grin her way and began instructing once more.

“Now, you need to close your eyes and focus. This won’t work if you let anything really annoy you. Gohan and I will be here until you’re able to at least call your ki up to you.”

Videl gave a small nod and followed Krillin’s instructions. She focused inwards and tried to find the power that she had already been using both unconsciously and today consciously. She now knew somewhat of how it felt and it was that much easier to pull forward once she tapped into it.

“Good. Very good. I might even say scary good.”

Krillin’s voice was fairly soothing as she worked to feel out her power. It felt like a small spark of flame meant just for her, something that she would use to fight the forces of evil and to help anyone that she could. It felt as though she had been missing a piece of herself and now she finally understood _exactly_ how to find that piece.

“I think you might be the most natural ki using human I’ve ever met, Videl. And I’ve met _a lot_ of martial artists in my time. What do you think Gohan?”

Videl tilted her head to the side at that question. Now that she thought about it, she could feel Krillin’s ki, though it was utterly suppressed so as not to bowl her over like he had done when she had first met him. However, she still felt the sense of a barely restrained presence with him.

However, she couldn’t feel Gohan at all, it was as if he didn’t have any sort of ki, but that wasn’t true. Videl had been able to sense Chi-Chi’s ki when they had been fighting and she was definitely weaker than Krillin. She had figured that Gohan would have some sort of similar amount of power as her, even if he hadn’t been doing the same exercises, they had been pretty close in age. Surely she should be able to feel his presence as well?

She felt her mouth set into a determined line and began to focus on the boy. However, the more she focused, the more she realized that it felt like he wasn’t actually hiding anything. It felt like whatever his ki was, it was just out of her reach like something standing in her peripheral vision.

Frustrated she opened her eyes and looked down at herself. What she saw made her gasp in astonishment.

“It’s pretty cool, you’re definitely a natural kiddo.”

Videl nodded as she took in the white tendrils of energy almost lazily drifting from her body. She sensed the energy and was amazed at how natural it now felt to her. She knew that she could call on this power to be able to fight now, and would be that much better at it.

She glanced at Gohan and noticed that he had a small smile, much like Krillin’s, and Videl decided that she would be a bit more forward with the boy. She was done dancing around. Not to mention she wanted to see if he had the same ability to manipulate ki as her.

“So are you able to use ki?”

Gohan looked a bit startled at the question. It looked as if he had intended to just come and enjoy the show, but he quickly recovered and gave a hesitant nod. Videl grinned at that and decided to see how much she could push the boy’s buttons.

“Well, I’ve sensed Krillin’s, I’ve shown you mine, how about you show me yours?”

Krillin laughed uproariously at that even as Gohan’s face flushed in embarrassment. However, judging by the glint in his eye, she had a feeling she was about to have her small teasing turned back on her.

“Are you sure, if Krillin’s was too big to handle, I don’t think you’d be able to work with mine.”

Videl felt herself gaping at the boy as he gave a small laugh. However, before she could get a response in, the boy decided to help her out.

“I guess I could let you feel a bit, but be careful.”

Videl was going to ask him what he meant by that, when suddenly, all of her ki instincts went haywire. She couldn’t see, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t feel anything. All she felt… was an intense presence all throughout the mountainside. It was as if she was a drop in a pond and she was now sitting next to a veritable ocean. There was no way in hell she would be able to survive…

With a gasping breathe Videl came back to herself as Gohan and Krillin looked on in concern. She felt sweat rolling down her brow and stinging her eyes.

“Holy hell…”

Krillin gave a small laugh at that.

“You ain’t kidding kiddo, the reason I wanted Gohan on this adventure, besides it being good for him to get out of the house, is that he’s hands down, stronger than me.”

Videl gave a shaky nod at that. If what she had just felt was Gohan’s ki, then there was not a chance in hell she could beat him.

“And I’ll have to fight people like him on our journey?”

Krillin burst out laughing and Gohan gave a small grin at that.

“Oh, hell no! If someone on Gohan’s level shows up, we’ll let Gohan handle them. For now, let’s get some food, get some sleep, and then set out for the next Dragonball tomorrow!”

Videl gave a small nod and the three of them headed back to the house to get some rest. She would be ready to face a small, voice that had been nagging in her mind ever since Krillin had shown her he could fly. If her father hadn’t beaten Cell, who had? She tried to ignore as the voice said she might have just found the answer.

* * *

Videl looked around as she followed slightly behind Krillin and Gohan. The Dragon Radar had pointed to this out of the way town that looked as though it would fit right in with a Western, complete with a Saloon, which sounded rowdy even from where they were standing.

After they had all gone in and found Chi-Chi waiting with a meal, the master and student had shared a lively meal with the Son family, before turning in for the night. The next morning Videl had been woken at the crack of dawn and sent on the milk run once more. She had completed it in almost half the time, thanks to her new usage of ki.

Once that was done, Krillin has brought out the Dragon Radar and they had gotten into a copter before taking off for the town that they were currently in. Videl even thought she had seen a tumbleweed drift by as they walked through the place.

“Well, looks like that Dragonball is in the Saloon, might as well see what’s going on in there.”

His piece said, Krillin stepped through the double doors with Gohan and Videl following him, although Videl felt a bit peeved that they were going into this establishment, she knew that it was for her mother. However, as soon as they stepped through, a voice called out over the din of patrons.

“Holy shit! Is that you baldy!?”

This voice caused the entire bar to go silent and Videl tensed as she saw her master blink in what looked like astonishment and possibly a bit of trepidation.

Videl looked over at the speaker and saw that she was a woman who had blonde hair with a red ribbon tied neatly in it and was wearing a black tank top with a Capsule Corp jacket with green cargo pants. She had green eyes and a mean look as she walked over to the three at the door, the others in the bar parting as she passed.

Krillin sighed as he rubbed his head sheepishly.

“Been awhile, Launch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just copied my fanfiction.net thoughts and am posting them, although this chapter has been edited up by myself.
> 
> Annnd finished. Phew. This was nice to write. A bit shorter than last outing, but it really took some of the edge off of the writing I have to do as work. Welp it was nice to be able to write for fun for a bit. So, anyway, here’s Launch! Now will she be a companion on this crazy adventure? Not sure, she might just interact, she might go, I’m kinda okay with both, we’ll see which way that wind blows. 
> 
> Anywho, I enjoyed this chapter simply because of some of the training stuff I had Krillin do. I’m a sucker for training stuff and I always enjoy reading them, so hopefully I wrote it okay. In other news, this fic doubled the reviews it had in the amount of time that I last posted, which is pretty incredible considering the first chapter got like 9 reviews in two days and last chapter got like 20. So that was awesome for me, and the fact that they’re still positive is a plus as well. It’s always nice to see a fic I wrote being appreciated. 
> 
> I think I’m gonna leave this A/N a bit short, thanks for your support so far, hope I’m still doing something right. Questions, comments, concerns? PM me! Still no beta, so usual spiel about typos and such. If you’re feeling kind, please leave a review or hit that fav/follow button. Like I said before, it always brings a smile. Now then, onto the good ol’ disclaimer!
> 
> Disclaimer: DragonBall, DragonBall Z, and DragonBall GT are all owned by Funamation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Akira Toriyam! Please support the official release!


	4. Because I was a Different Person Then

Videl blinked as she tried to figure out how she had gotten herself into the mess she was currently in.

Krillin had greeted the blonde like she had been an old friend, but as soon as he had gotten near her, he had found himself on the business end of a handgun that she had pulled from _nowhere_. Honestly, where was that woman keeping that thing?

Videl was no stranger to firearms, it was somewhat of a requirement to deal with the seedier sides of her city, but most of the thugs she had taken on looked as though they didn’t really know how to wield their weapons. It looked like that was not the case for this blonde chick.

“I’ve been lookin’ for one of you, short stuff. Haven’t seen any of you in quite a long time.”

Krillin had his hands held up in a placating sort of gesture, and although he seemed a bit nervous, it looked more like an act than anything else.

“Now, now Launch, I’m sure we went over the fact that you’re not allowed to greet old friends on with the business end of a gun.”

Launch rolled her eyes as she glanced at the other two that were watching the confrontation. Videl took that chance to glance at Gohan and noticed that he was merely watching the entire event with what looked like amusement if the small smile was anything to go by. Hell, he hadn’t even uncrossed his arms as he looked over at her master.

“You know me, Shortstop, nothing beats good ol’ fashion lead.”

She once more gazed towards Krillin as she cocked the hammer back.

“Now, I’ve got a question for you, baldy.”

Krillin laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Well, I can help you out I suppose.”

Launch looked as though she was going to finally holster her weapon, but then Krillin decided to continue.

“That is, if you’d be so kind as to fork over the Dragonball.”

Launch eyed the monk suspiciously, before giving a vicious grin, and raising up her gun and replacing the hammer so it was now pointing harmlessly at the sky.

“You’re on!”

Krillin sighed in relief, although it felt a bit forced to Videl.

“Now, how bout introducing me to tweedledum and tweedledee over here?”

Videl rolled her eyes before striding forward fearlessly.

“Videl Satan, nice to meet you.”

Before she could continue, Krillin interrupted as he gestured towards Gohan.

“And that’s Gohan, Goku’s son.”

Launch’s eyes widened at that, before softening slightly.

“Nice to meet ya, squirt.”

She then slid her gaze over to Videl and Videl made sure not to fidget as she was looked up and down by judging green eyes.

“I’ve heard of ya, too, been making a bit of a name for yourself.”

Videl blinked at that statement. Although she had been becoming a bit famous in her own city, they were hundreds of miles away from there right now. She wasn’t sure she should be flattered or a bit scared that the gun wielding blonde had heard of her.

“Thank you?”

She was sure her voice came out a bit weaker than she had intended, but in the face of the blonde’s grin she supposed it was alright.

“I think I might like ya, kid. Now…”

Launch once more turned her attention to Videl’s master and reached into one of her coat pockets before withdrawing what was without a doubt a Dragonball.

“…if ya want this, you’re gonna answer my question.”

Krillin sighed in what was most likely exasperation before he nodded cordially.

“I said I would, and I generally keep my word.”

Launch looked Krillin up and down and gave a small nod.

“Alright, even though I remember a time when that was definitely not the case.”

Videl was then treated to the sight of her master flushing in embarrassment from the offhanded comment.

“I’ve grown up since then, and I have a student of my own now. I wouldn’t be setting a good example if I stayed the way I used to be.”

Launch snorted at that as she began to lightly toss the Dragonball into the air, and as it was glinting in the light, Videl noticed there was only one star on it.

“Ain’t that the truth. Well, guess I’ll get on with it.”

One more toss and then the Dragonball landed in her hand.

“Where’s Tien?”

Krillin blinked, as did Videl and Gohan. Videl hadn’t exactly been expecting that sort of question from the woman, but it sounded like it might be a simple enough answer.

However, when she glanced at her master, he looked decidedly uncomfortable at the question.

“Well, I’m not entirely sure-”

He was cut off as a gun was once more raised in his direction.

“Bullshit! I know you guys can sense that ki stuff, so you can find him even if you don’t know for sure!”

Krillin made a frantic gesture as he was once more within the sights of the irate gunwoman.

“I’m telling the truth, and Tien is probably one of the best there is at sensing and suppressing ki! In fact…”

Krillin then glanced at Videl and had a considering look, despite the fact that the blonde woman began to look positively murderous at the fact that she was being ignored.

“Yeah that could work.”

The words were softer than anything else so far, but Videl could barely make them out. Once they were uttered, Krillin turned his gaze toward Launch once more.

“How about this, Videl here has been having some problems with ki sensing, I think Tien might be good for her. You can come with us until we find him?”

Launch seemed to think Krillin’s offer over for a second before she gave a small nod.

“Sounds good enough for me, short stuff. However, I think I’ll hang onto this, just for insurance.”

She then proceeded to place the Dragonball once more in her pocket. Videl looked longingly at the piece of wish granting MacGuffin that she needed before giving a small sigh. She supposed it wouldn’t be fair to just take the Dragonball without at least trying to help the blonde. Even though Videl disliked guns in general (a hazard of being shot at one too many times) she wouldn’t mind traveling with another girl.

“Are you sure about taking her to Tien, Krillin? I’d say Piccolo is the best of us at that kind of thing.”

Videl shot a questioning look at Gohan for speaking up suddenly, but he was ignoring her as he gazed at his friend. She was also trying to figure out why the name Piccolo sounded so familiar to her, it was probably going to drive her crazy until she figured it out.

 Krillin gave a half shrug at the question.

“Well, that’s probably true, but he’s also the best at suppressing his ki and I have no idea where he is. Not to mention he can be a bit…”

Krillin paused as he searched for the word to describe this Piccolo character, but Gohan decided to fill him in.

“Intense.”

Krillin snapped his fingers in realization as he pointed at Gohan.

“Intense! There we go! Yeah, that guy is crazy intense. I know he taught you for a bit, but I’d rather not have Videl go through that type of training if I can help it, and Piccolo might do that just because.”

Gohan gave a small chuckle at that, as he nodded his head in agreement.

“Yeah I think she might take offense at getting hurled into a mountain.”

Videl rolled her eyes, apparently Gohan had gone through some pretty tough training to get to his energy level.

“Well what are we waiting for ya pansies? Tien ain’t gonna find himself, let’s go!”

Krillin shook his head in exasperation of Launch’s antics.

“Apparently I needed to keep that pepper powder handy. Never thought I’d run into Launch here.”

Videl was trying to puzzle out how pepper powder could possibly help against the blonde psychopath, but chalked it up to one of the other weird things that she had seen so far. And to think, less than a week ago she had been ignorant to all of these things.

_If I’ve been ignorant to just what I’ve seen so far, how much more am I ignorant to, and how much is my dad keeping from me?_

She crushed those thoughts down to the deepest part of her soul. She had no use for doubts at the moment. She would confront her demons when she was good and ready.

“Well, looks like you at least have a girl to talk to now, so long as she doesn’t pump you full of bullets.”

Videl rolled her eyes once more, honestly she wasn’t a delicate flower and she would be able to take on any kind of gunwoman, regardless of how good a shot she was. However, she realized something as she counted their ever growing party. She only really had enough room for three people within her copter, so someone might need to be left behind.

However, when she brought this up, Krillin merely laughed at her.

“Oh man, I needed that. Don’t worry, Gohan and I will be fine, we can keep up no problem with that thing.”

Videl shrugged at that, but decided that she would just have to wait and see.

A couple hours later to allow Launch to get her things together for a journey, and they were once more in the sky, Videl’s eyebrow twitching.

Apparently not only could Krillin and Gohan _both_ fly. They could both fly _fast_.

She knew that it was possible to levitate thanks to Krillin’s little demonstration, but she had never thought that it was possible to be moving at the speeds that the two were currently moving at, and _laughing about it_.

“Chill out there pigtails. You’re gonna give yourself an ulcer if ya get freaked out by these little things.”

Videl glanced over to her passenger. She supposed she should take solace in the fact that the woman was unable to follow the two outside. Apparently not everyone she was going to meet was able to break the laws of physics.

Videl then thought of the magically appearing gun and grimaced. Well, apparently they might, just not in the same way each time.

Sighing, Videl checked to make sure she was still keeping up with the two outside before responding.

“It’s not so much that they can fly, I kinda already knew about that much, it’s more about the fact that they can fly so damn _fast_!”

Launch snorted in amusement as her gun once more magically appeared and she began cleaning it.

“I hear ya, but still, I’d think that you might be getting used to weird shit. After all, crazy stuff seems to follow the people that go after the Dragonballs around. Hell, I’d say that short stuff and the kid might be the strongest people I know.”

Videl wasn’t sure if she should feel reassured by that fact. On the one hand it meant that this Tien person that they were going to meet wasn’t going to crush her just by being around her. On the other hand, it sounded like both Gohan and Krillin might be way more out of her league than she had originally thought.

Shaking her head she focused on the flying. That didn’t matter in the first place. They were pretty much the muscle of the journey. And while she was definitely no damsel in distress, she could accept the fact that (for the time being) the two that were defying gravity were stronger than her.

“I guess you’re right. I’ve already met some interesting characters. Although I guess I’ve had some good luck too. Krillin seems like he’s a pretty good master.”

At that statement Launch grinned in an almost menacing way.

“Hey, I don’t know how long you’ve known the guy, but I’ve known him since he was a kid. Wanna hear some embarrassing stories?”

Videl was torn for a moment. On the one hand, she wanted to protect her master’s integrity, on the other she had had some pretty intense training so far. Then she remembered the dinosaur and decided to say screw it.

“You know what, that sounds awesome.”

* * *

Gohan was soaring through the air at (for him and Krillin) a leisurely pace.

It hadn’t even been a day and already they had found the second Dragonball. True, they had to run a small errand for Launch, whom he had not been expecting to see, but it seemed like everything was going okay.

It was quite the stark difference from the other times he had gathered the dragonballs so far. Even though they were doing it so Videl could wish someone back to life, it was nice to have no world ending events trying to get in their way as they went about it.

Honestly, he might enjoy this little adventure, it was more a vacation than anything else, and he might be able to get in a few friendly spars with Krillin if everything went well.

While his mother was of the belief that his schooling was the be all end all, and his father fell on close to the other end of the spectrum, Gohan liked to think that he fell somewhere in the middle, a solid mix of his parents.

He always felt that to train one was to have the need to train the other. Yin and yang and all that jazz.

“What you thinking so hard about that your forehead is frowning, kiddo?”

Gohan glanced up at his father’s friend and decided that it might be fun to mess with him.

“You know, the usual stuff, contemplating our place in the universe, meaning of life, how Bulma can fit an entire house into a tiny capsule.”

Krillin gave out a low chuckle that carried on the wind at that.

“Well, at least we can say definitively that we’re not alone in the universe.”

He then sobered as he seemed to think of the various people that they had met when they went to space. Unfortunately, a lot of them had been of the evil variety.

“Although I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”

Gohan wanted to shrug at that, but couldn’t quite manage it with their flight positions.

“I think it just is what it is, Krillin. Although I gotta say, this Dragonball hunt is going much nicer than the one on Namek.”

Krillin let out another chuckle at that.

“Man, wasn’t that your first real hunt? Talk about a crazy initiation into that kind of thing. I gotta say, you don’t do things by halves Gohan.”

Gohan smiled a bit at that, but grimaced as he remembered a time when he had gotten too conceited. It had almost cost the entire world and it had cost him his dad.

“Hey now, none of that!”

Gohan looked over to his friend and saw that he had been watching as Gohan’s expression had changed.

“You did good for what was handed to you, kiddo. True you made a mistake, but I don’t think it was right for us to put everything on you either.”

Krillin sighed as he went back to trying to sense Tien’s ki.

“Hoenstly, I wish we were able to do more than we did. It’s supposed to be the adult’s job to take care of things like that.”

Well, it looked like he had transferred some of his own melancholy over to Krillin. That was definitely not what he had in mind when he had agreed to going on this journey.

“It’s okay Krillin. I know you did your best. That’s all anyone can really ask for.”

Krillin let loose a slightly self depreciating laugh at that.

“It’s just hard sometimes. I’m your dad’s best friend, but he’s left me so far behind it’s not even funny. Now it’s up to me to pass on the Turtle School’s teachings and I can’t help but feel that it should be him. He’s definitely the stronger of the two of us, he always has been.”

Gohan was already shaking his head before Krillin was even finished.

“Power doesn’t necessarily equate to being a good teacher, Krillin. Although I’ve been taught by both Piccolo and my dad, I feel like I learned how to be human from you. They’re a bit too powerful, and all they really think about is the next challenge, the next fight.”

Gohan paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

“However, I think you and Bulma helped to shape me into who I am today. Our time on Namek was scary, and there were a lot of crazy things that happened, but I think it was an experience that I needed.”

Krillin’s laugh was much more genuine this time.

“Look at me, getting life advice from a teenager, when I have to be giving advice myself. You’re a good kid, Gohan.”

Gohan merely rolled his eyes at that statement.

“And I think you might be hitting your mid-life crisis. How old are you again?”

Gohan watched in satisfaction as Krillin almost fell out of the air at that statement.

“I’m only 33, kiddo! Still plenty of time before I hit one of those!”

Gohan laughed at Krillin’s response, apparently the monk’s age was more of a sore spot than he had thought.

“If you say so, old man, before you know it, you’ll be just like Master Roshi. Living on an island in the middle of the ocean and training various people in Martial Arts.”

Krillin shook his head at that, but a small smile was growing as he did.

“Maybe I’m older than I thought, that honestly doesn’t sound too bad. I guess I’ll just have to make Videl the most kick ass girl I can, especially since she’s my first disciple.”

Gohan never let the grin fall from his face as he responded.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine…old man.”

“Oi!”

Laughing, Gohan sped a bit past his friend, with the man quickly catching up. However, a crackle on their earpieces, courtesy of Bulma, had them slowing down.

“What the hell!? You guys can go faster! Slow the hell down, I’m already pushing this thing as fast as she can go!”

The two martial artists shared a sheepish look before slowing down to a more manageable pace for the copter. They supposed they should make sure to keep their speed in check while they traveled with the girls.

* * *

Videl hated to admit it, but she was definitely beginning to get tired after their constant flight. It had been almost two hours now and they had gone further into the wastelands than she had ever been and the ever unchanging scenery had her eyelids drooping more than she wanted.

Unlike her, her passenger had no qualms about kicking her feet up and taking a small nap, and that had been around half an hour ago. Hopefully they would be able to find Tien soon, otherwise she would have to signal to the boys that she needed a rest and that was something that she was loathe to do as they had been utilizing their ki for this entire time and showed no signs of slowing down.

Videl thought about the times she had actively utilized her own ki and realized that she either had utterly crappy control or that the two on the outside had an ocean’s full amount while she had a puddle. She came to the conclusion that it was probably a bit of both.

Just as she was about to contact the two, pride be damned, the radio on her consol crackled and Krillin’s voice came through.

“Well, I’ll be damned. I think we actually found him. That was quicker than I thought.”

Videl gave a small sigh of relief as she switched her radio on and transmitted her own message to her Master.

“Great! About how far is he?”

There was a pause before the radio once more crackled to life, although it was Gohan that responded this time.

“About an hour’s time north of here. I think we should take a quick break, you can’t be too comfortable in there after such a long flight.”

Videl was about to respond and tell the boy where he could shove his suggestion, but Krillin interrupted.

“You know what, a break sounds great. I also think it’d be a good idea for you to be on the ground so we can signal Tien that we’re on the way. Gohan and I have been suppressing our ki to help you out, but that means that no one else can really sense us right now and a surprised Tien is usually something that’s kind of unpleasant to deal with.”

While Videl felt her pride smart at the comment, she had to admit that she would probably crash if one of the two let loose a bit and she felt their power. She was sure she could probably overcome the sensation, but she didn’t want to risk her passenger’s life just because of her pride.

With great reluctance she answered almost sullenly.

“Fine.”

That one worded answer had them finding a decent plateau to land on. By the time they had gotten on the ground, Launch had woken and was stretching languidly in the seat next to her. Videl made sure to force down that spike of jealously at how sensual the girl made the movement look.

Videl wasn’t one to be overly self conscious of her femininity and if asked she would probably classify herself as more of a tomboy if anything, but the blonde gunwoman would make anyone question that side of themselves while sitting next to her.

“Man, I gotta say, riding in airplanes is a weird experience after so long. A bit cramped really.”

A quick crack of the neck and the gunwoman sauntered over to Krillin who was gazing north in concentration.

“So, short stuff, you find him?”

This was said as the woman draped an arm around her master’s shoulder. Krillin rolled his eyes in exasperation, but gave a slight nod in response to her question.

“Yeah, he’s pretty close. Just about an hour north, but Gohan and I wanted to stop so that we can raise our power levels to let him know we’re on the way. I’m sure you know he can be a bit ornery when people randomly show up.”

Launch let out a small bark of laughter at that as she let go of the diminutive monk.

“Ain’t that the truth. That guy can be real cranky about the weirdest things.”

As if realizing something she then slid her gaze over to Videl, who merely met the blonde’s eyes questioningly.

“Come to think of it, what’s your last name again, pigtails?”

Videl sighed, she had had originally bristled at the nickname that she had been given by the gunwoman, but no amount of cajoling, pleading, or bargaining had been able to do anything about it so she had just accepted the fact that Launch enjoyed giving nicknames instead of using people’s actual names.

However, she supposed she could at least match rudeness with rudeness. While Videl was normally pretty respectful of her elders, that only went so far before she decided to give as good as she got.

“It’s Satan, blondie. You know, after the man who saved the world from Cell?”

Videl ignored the slight twinge of doubt when she said that, but noticed that Launch had a contemplative look once she was finished.

“No shit. Krillin you didn’t tell me you were training the daughter of a ‘hero.’”

Even Videl could feel the quotation marks on the word hero, but apparently even Launch could learn to quiet down if the glare her master was giving the blonde gunwoman was anything to go by.

“Alright, alright, a bit touchy eh? I’m just saying, Tien ain’t gonna like the fact that she’s related to that guy at all.”

Krillin sighed at that statement, but he didn’t disagree.

Videl looked between the two, but apparently whatever they were talking about had ended there. However, she was still curious so decided to shoot out her own speculation for why her father might not be welcomed with this Tien character.

“Did my father have a fight with this guy or something? One of the guys he beat one his way to World Champ?”

Apparently this was the wrong thing to say, as Launch merely burst out laughing. However, it was quickly silenced by the glare Krillin sent her way.

It seemed she was unable to completely contain her glee as she wiped an imaginary tear away from her eye.

“That was a good one, pigtails. Never thought I’d get such a nice comedy act when I asked for help.”

Videl felt herself flushing in embarrassment at the gunwoman’s attitude and the looks that both Gohan and Krillin were sending her way that she only really noticed out of the corner of her eye. She felt as though there was some sort of inside joke that everyone she had met in the past week was a part of and they were telling it behind her back at her expense.

“Then does it have to do with Cell?”

Well, it seemed that that was one way to kill the blonde’s mood as she almost literally choked on air, her eyes wide. However, an almost sinister smile began to flit across the blonde’s face once she had recovered. There was some sort of intense glint in her eye as she looked Videl up and down.

“Are you sure you want that question answered right here and now, pigtails?”

Videl felt her temper flash at that. She was tired of being kept in the dark and having everyone look down on her for not knowing something (even though she had a pretty good idea about what that something was). Just as she was opening her mouth (she wasn’t sure if she was going to attack the blonde verbally, or beg the blonde to tell her) a voice cut through the plateau.

“I think that’s enough, Launch.”

Videl blinked as she registered the voice. She looked over and saw that it was Gohan who had spoken this time, and she almost shirked away from the intensity that he was staring at the blonde gunwoman. Videl had felt that same intense stare and had felt the boy’s ki, but even without it he seemed to have some sort of innate charisma that made people listen to him.

Apparently it even worked on psychopathic gunwomen because she rubbed her head sheepishly in apology.

“Ah hell, now I’ve gone and pissed off Goku’s kid. Sorry about that, kiddo. I’ll stop for now.”

Videl was about to throw caution to the wind and _demand_ answers, but she was cut off by a comforting hand placed on her shoulder.

“I think you’ll find your own answers in due time, Videl, but they won’t mean as much to you if you have someone else try and give them to you. It’s important to ask questions, and to question events as they’re told, but only you can really decide what is the truth and what is a lie.”

Videl glanced up at her Master before giving a reluctant nod. Although she still felt like she still had more questions than answers, maybe he was right. She wasn’t sure what would have happened if Launch had answered all her questions, but she had to realize that it wasn’t completely important to her at the moment.

With a small sigh she broke from her Master’s grip and walked away to lean on her copter.

“Might as well signal that guy now, otherwise we’ll be here all day.”

Krillin gave her a small smile, and she felt like she had just passed some kind of test. She had no idea what it was, but she supposed she should be happy she passed, even if it did leave here feeling more out of the loop than she already was.

However, she remembered the fact that not only was the man who had tried to comfort her training her, he was also helping her gather seven mystical balls that would grant her wish of seeing her mom again. She supposed she could let a lot of things slide if that was the case.

Grin still present, Krillin then let loose the tightly restricted ki he had been holding back for the past few days.

Videl felt her breathe catch as she felt the familiar power that she had first felt on Roshi’s island wash over her once more. This was the man that had decided to teach her. A presence so massive that she felt like a small flame flickering in the wind that was his power.

And yet, even with his strength washing over the plateau, Videl glanced over towards Gohan and Launch, both of whom seemed utterly unaffected by what she was feeling. When she had glanced over her eyes locked with Gohan’s and he gave a small smile of encouragement towards her. It was enough to let her center herself and make sure she didn’t embarrass herself by fainting or something. She had to remember that Gohan’s power was probably even greater than Krillin’s. She wasn’t sure if she should be comforted or terrified over the fact that these two powerhouses were so close to her.

“Well, that should at least tell them we’re coming.”

Just as suddenly as the presence had washed over her, it was once more locked tight. Videl felt herself breathing easier as Krillin once more put a leash on his power. She felt a small bit of disgust at the fact that even after these few days, she was still having trouble with being able to be in someone’s presence when they were letting loose.

While she was thinking of that, she realized that Launch was utterly unaffected by the display. However, when she asked how the blonde was unaffected as they began loading into the copter once more, the gunwoman just laughed it off.

“I’m totally pants at that ki stuff. From what I gathered, I just don’t have enough training to be able to utilize it the right way and I can’t sense it for shit. In that area, ya definitely beat me, pigtails.”

Videl sighed at that, but decided that she would have to accept the answer.

“Hopefully this Tien guy can help me with that.”

She had intended for that statement to be muttered under her breath, but the close proximity of the copter let Launch hear the sentence with no real problems and the gunwoman let out one of her barks of laughter.

“Pigtails, Tien is probably one of the best ki users still alive today. If your master is the Master of the Turtle Style, then Tien inherited the title of Master for the Crane Style. Both of those schools have been around for a long time and have a bit of a rivalry. I think it’s definitely friendlier nowadays than it had been thought.”

Videl tried to take solace in that, but she felt a bit of trepidation at the thought of asking for help from a rival school. Wouldn’t that type of thing be discouraged?

She decided to ask the question over the radio, but Krillin just laughed her worries off.

“Don’t worry about that, kiddo. While Tien might have been a hardcore rival of ours back in the day, he’s definitely mellowed out since then. Things happened and now we’re definitely more friends than rivals, he should be pretty agreeable to helping you out. Especially since this ki sensitivity of yours could be a problem later down the line if you fight someone that can just blast you with their power. It would cripple you in a fight way too easily, and Tien sort of hates that kind of thing nowadays.”

Videl supposed she would just have to trust her master’s judgment on that front. Hopefully she would be able to make a good enough impression. Otherwise she might really be handicapped whenever she fought someone with the ability to use ki. She would just have to make sure that Tien taught her, even if she had to break her knee over his face to get him to do so.

* * *

It had nearly been an hour of going north when Videl almost lost control of her copter as she seemed to run straight into a massive presence that was covering a valley that looked like an oasis compared to the wastelands they were coming from.

She had been fine, when suddenly it felt as though there was a massive indistinct man with three eyes gazing down throughout the entire valley, directly at her copter. She jerked on the controls, and suddenly she and Launch were spiraling in a nose dive, with the gunwoman giving a startled yelp as gravity won against their dominance of the air.

However, they were jerked to a stop and crashed against their belts. Videl felt a bit dazed as she felt the copter lower to the ground. Shaking her head, she opened her hatch and stepped out of the copter to see that Gohan had been the one to catch them.

Apparently he could easily life the copter, since he didn’t even look like he had put in any effort in catching them. Videl gave a small nod of thanks as she looked around at the place they had set down.

It seemed to be a small clearing within the valley that they had been traveling over and Videl could hear a waterfall roaring off in the distance. Honestly the place looked similar to the clearing that she had trained in when they had been over at Gohan’s home. She supposed Martial Art types just seemed to like out of the way places where they could meditate and train.

“That was a close one, you okay?”

Videl gave a small nod of confirmation to Gohan’s query, but before anything else could happen, a voice she had never heard before rang out within the clearing.

“Well that’s something different, I didn’t think I would send the presence I felt spiraling out of the sky when I probed the valley.”

Videl blinked and looked up to see a man floating in the sky, arms crossed as he looked down on the people that had entered what was evidently his valley. She felt her eyes widen as she recognized him, he had definitely been the presence she had felt.

It was somewhat easy to figure out with the third eye and all. She hoped this was the guy they were looking for, because she felt like she might need a bit to recover from that unexpected assault to her senses.

Thankfully she didn’t have to wait long as Krillin’s voice rang out from the sky above the clearing and when she looked up she saw that the man was floating with his hands behind his head in a relaxed position.

“Nice to see you too, Tien.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s a cut. Whew, this one was set to really get away from me and I don’t have time to write a 10k chapter today(which may come as a bit of a disappointment to some of you, I’m sure). I wanted to finish this chapter and get it out quick, and I think I’ve accomplished that. This bad boy was more character interaction than fights, but worry not, those will continue in the next chapter, after all Tien strikes me as a guy that needs proof that someone has potential before he would help train them, and Videl’s first impression so far is falling out of the sky.
> 
> Anywho, many thanks to all those who have fav/followed and reviewed. I think this is my most universally praised outing so far, due to the fact that in 69 reviews, not a single one has been negative. It’s an interesting deal to me, as while I have had that amount of reviews before, usually by this time I’ll have had at least one person who doesn’t like the story. I think the most criticism I’ve had is to add Super to my disclaimer, and if that is the extent, then guess I’m doing something right.
> 
> Whelp, gonna be a shorter A/N here as I need to be going somewhere in about twenty minutes, so onto the usual spiel! Questions, comments, concerns? PM me! Beta, I know not of what you speak. So any typos, grammar, or other issues are due to that. If you’re feeling kind, please leave a review (almost to 100, always a nice feeling to get to) or fav/follow. Now onto the disclaimer, because if you’ve been here so far, you know how I roll by now! Now with more Super!
> 
> Disclaimer: DragonBall, DragonBall Z, DragonBall GT, and Dragonball Super are all owned by Funamation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Akira Toriyama! Please support the official release!
> 
> P.S. This was crossed posted on ff, and I actually have the rest of those chapters nice and ready to go, I'll be posting them once I get the seventh chapter of this story written. That's about halfway done, so hopefully it'll be done within the week. Thanks to all the people who have stopped by to read on this account, its been a buncha fun!

**Author's Note:**

> Another cross post from ff.net for me, so this is just the not from there. However, this has been edited while the one on ff.net has not yet.
> 
> Well then, apparently I’ve been bitten by the writing bug. Hello to all the readers who have made it to this little fic of mine. This is in fact a spiritual successor to a one shot I had written for team Dragon Star a while ago to be accepted into their coalition. Apparently that fic The Rabbit Hole was a fairly popular one shot, so go and check it out if you liked this. In fact go and check out any of Team Dragon Star’s work which I think is all good. Even though I don’t write for them at the moment (those of you in the know, know that I somewhat vanished from the fanfic scene for a bit) I still like promoting them.
> 
> This is a nice little fic that I will be continuing on from here, not sure about constant updates (as I have a couple others that need my attention, especially after so long) but it’s definitely not a one-shot. Hopefully you guys enjoy reading this little new fic of mine as much as I enjoyed writing it, I personally love Videl interacting with the cast earlier than she does in cannon, and I like utilizing people like Roshi and Krillin (expect others like Tien and Yamcha later on most likely as well).
> 
> Questions? Comments? Concerns? PM me! As of right now this fic is unbetaed so any typos or grammar things are due to that fact. If you’re feeling kind leave a review, any story I write I do so because I enjoy writing them, but damn it I’m a fanfic writer, reviews are nice! I think that’s all, so on to the disclaimer, because at the bottom is how I roll!
> 
> Disclaimer: DragonBall, DragonBall Z, and DragonBall GT are all owned by Funamation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Akira Toriyam! Please support the official release!


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